By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (page 12)
August 11th, 2011
Unrest in the Middle East, protests in Europe and now London burns. The global climate is in unrest with most parts of the world experiencing some sort of chaos – riots, plunging stock markets, famine, natural and man-made disasters.
Groups of people are unhappy about something – totalitarian rule, austerity measures, targeted police brutality, empty pockets, unclean elections – all pertinent issues that have been ignored for too long and now the people have reached their tipping point and are doing something about it.
Too many are tired of being marginalised and as a last resort taken to the streets to demand a change in their situation. Of course not all who are marginalised have the luxury of going to the streets though.
No one really thought about Egypt’s political situation until the Egyptians started massing in Tahrir Square. Then the world took notice and their Mubarak who once ruled with an iron fist is now bed-ridden and seen wheeled into a holding cage at trial. Their situation changed drastically – perhaps not yet for the better but a revolution is now progressing in that country.
There is a saying that “when people fear the government there is tyranny and when the government fear the people there is liberty”. One can only hope the new leaders of Egypt, realise how strong their people are and rule justly.
In London, however, there is no excuse for such mindless thuggery destroying the city, though one has to wonder who these multiracial looters are and what is their cause? Have they been marginalised, have they been treated with respect, do they have jobs, do they feel like they are part of society or is all this carnage dedicated to Mark Duggan?
As history points out Tottenham in the 80’s experienced Broadwater Farm riots so is this the second wave of such horror or is this the doing of those who are “trapped in the system”, utterly bored opportunists?
Whatever the cause, what we have seen is how socially excluded groups of people have taken to the streets and for that suddenly been given the time of day by the media, those in authority and the world is paying attention – willingly or unwillingly.
Such political and social activism stems from a frustration and hunger for more. Not all activism is justified in the case of London but in other parts of the world people want change and are not just hungry for change but for food and basic necessities. A common factor in the different unrest experienced around the world is the fact that there is a great disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Income disparity that is so wide ends up becoming a major point of contention for the masses.
Looking at our country, the NKRA’s and GTP’s have been put in place to show that the government is doing something to improve living standards – it even added a 7th NKRA –to tackle living costs. Though with every glowing report, we are told that things are getting better – without it translating to my bank account or community.
Yes, food prices are high, yes we should let go of subsidies, yes we need to “tighten” our belts – but there’s nothing left to tighten and nothing left but debt. According to Mercer’s 2011 Cost of Living survey, our cost of living has overtaken cities such as Washington DC, Boston and San Francisco – surely this is a telling tale. Yet, money is easily dispersed and getting a government contract causes one to upgrade from middle income to instant tycoon.
What happens to those trapped in the middle income bracket? Those in charge of pay scales need to start being realistic. Some employers have the audacity to not pay proportionally because the presumption is that the employee being local will have lower living costs staying with their parents.
Clearly, many Malaysian employers no matter how highly educated have not graduated from the mentality that employees are not slaves to own and need to be treated with dignity. Large generations of Malaysian young adults enter the workforce with a heavy load of debt for basic needs and are unable to buy homes and cars without their parents help.
What will then happen to the next few generations? Will they have to pay off a generational debt? These are factors that caused people to walk the streets of other countries. A widening income disparity has never benefited any economy or government.
When people are hungry for basic necessities, have worked hard and still do not make enough to live, it is only a matter of time before they reach their tipping point – and then what?
Natalie is not an advocate of violence but knows of the reality that people are capable of anything when they have nothing to lose.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
