By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia
January 13th, 2011
theSun, Malaysia
January 13th, 2011
We were enjoying a meal, when someone came up to us with a random mix of things insisting we have a look and buy their goods. A few minutes later the same thing happened, and again, when finally someone actually came up and asked us for money. So we politely said no, but that only made the person ask again motioning that she was hungry. So we said, we’ll buy her a meal, we’ll buy her what we were eating. She declined. We gave her the menu to choose what she’d like, she declined continuing to ask for money. After a long stubborn exchange of words, she had no choice but to agree to the meal. Shortly after, in true Malaysian fashion we continued our meal, this time at a more upmarket restaurant when midway during conversation, the same now-not-so-hungry woman walks in, not to solicit money but as a customer.
Soliciting money is a common scene. There are the able-bodied that come around selling things: be it children selling knickknacks or foreigners who pull out shiny fake watches out of their bags or those who come selling tissue paper packets or those with a cup asking for money. If you sit there long enough, you’ll experience round two of the usual suspects. It happens so often that most people become numb. They either decline to part with their money or just to ease their conscience they give a token not asking why those asking for funds are in such a position.
Then there are the charities that come around with mini-laminated booklets. Some seem devious by standing outside banks and ATM machines, cornering the unsuspecting.
Why is this such a common scene? There are three groups. The first are the people who beg: They range from the disabled who mysteriously are brought to pasar malams to beg to the ones who frequent restaurants with a beggar’s cup. It’s not that there is no welfare, sometimes people just don’t want state help for whatever reason. And since the problem is rampant, there’s only so much that can be done but it still does not make it acceptable.
You might think I have a heart made of tin, but sometimes, giving money is really for our benefit, so that we feel like we’ve done something good. Little do we know if that money is actually going to be used to buy milk for a hungry child and not drugs or alcohol for a user parent? Then there are the syndicates that run a business using beggars.
The second are the opportunists: They range from those selling the RM10 gift set to the foreigner trying to sell some bling. The authorities should clamp down on such entrepreneurs and restaurants need to clearly be opposed to such solicitation but there is little enforcement.
The third are the so-called charities whose accounts are not questioned. One does have to wonder though, who the stakeholders are? Is it the beneficiaries? If so, are they allowed to question how the money is spent? Who are the accountants responsible, who is doing the book keeping, are they qualified, and to whom are the reports going to.
Basically, I’m asking where is the accountability. In some cases, there is some sort of accountability to the board of directors but what about the donors? Under Malaysian law, charitable organisations are to submit an annual report to the registrar of societies, but the problem is, most do not have the means to hire qualified auditors or accountants, getting by with unskilled accounting staff and at the end of the day, submit inaccurate accounts or fail to submit it all together. So what happens then? We continue to give money not questioning if it’s going to the intended cause or people. We fool ourselves into believing we’re helping when in fact, we’re not.
In Malaysia, most charities are run by volunteers. There are many good people who do a lot of work for charities and there are a lot of charities doing good work. The problem though is that there are some that abuse that trust.
It is not pleasant to be approached for funds and I’m sure it’s not pleasant having to ask for donations but I guess that’s the only way of getting money for some.
Natalie wishes there were better rules and guidelines for charities and capable volunteers to do the accounting.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
