In our last blog we talk about poverty in Malaysia , how we did not believe poverty actually exist in Malaysia due to our little experience near Sunshine Bayan Baru. Coincidently Jeff Ooi at Screenshot, came out with a blog regarding poverty in Sabah. You can read it here.

 

The article really got me thinking about the whole issue on poverty again……. And the question that keeps on coming to me is how do you define poverty? Is poverty really means earning below certain amount of money?? Is it really all about money and world materials that we keep on seeing in the TV, newspaper and magazine? Is it really about having electricity, computer, internet access, cars and roads, bungalows and condominium? Or is it really about personal or self satisfaction with one’s life.

 

We keep hearing the media and politician ranting about the aboriginal people in Sabah, Sarawak , as well as in the peninsular being poor, or the east coast peninsular kampong people being poor. Are they really poor?

 

If you compare how much they earn, Ringgit with Ringgit, with the urban Penang and KL of course they are poor. But why don’t we make the comparison in a different way. Look at the urban yuppies, they want a new RM3K hand phone every six month, everyday during breakfast or lunch, all they talk about is longing for a new 2.0L Civic or Camry, the new semi-d home, the condominium overlooking KLCC or the sea and etc. Most of these yuppies are in debts, either with credit card bills, 9 years car loans and 30 years home loans.

 

Now lets us compare with the kampong folks, most probably they go fishing and farming in the morning and early afternoon. In the evening they hang around at coffee shops chatting with friends. To get to places they walk or cycle. They will be more than happy to own a 15 years old proton saga. At night they don’t huddle around the TV watching Astro, most probably they will be chatting with their family, repairing stuff around the home or sewing.

 

Most probably the kampong folks are more then contended with what they have in life compared to the urban yuppies in the city. Now you tell me who is poor and who is rich? I think most kampong people would feel that they are rich and happy with life, if the newspaper or our VoteForMe politician do not kept on telling them that they need a brick home, a car, more hypermarket, the monsoon cup race or more hotels in the kampong to be happy.

 

As for the indigenous folks in Sabah and Sarawak , I think they would feel very much richer if we leave them alone, especially the tribal people that has been living in the forest. Most probably all they want is for us to not touch their forest. They have been living in the rain forest for hundreds of years, in their long house, and suddenly we urban folks start telling them, hey you guys are living in poverty. Again who are we to tell them that they are poor? I think the Penan in Sarawak would feel that they are the richest people in the world if we keep our hands of their forest.

 

I think everyone has a different need to feel rich. I would think, it is not having the most money in the world that make Bill Gates rich but having Microsoft Windows in every computer in the world, that makes him happy and rich. So let us think again, the meaning of being rich or poor and who is rich and who is poor? Think from what is important to you, rather than what the newspaper, magazine, TV and VoteForMe politician tells you.