What does it say about us when a security guard and another man can hose down and kick a homeless person outside a bank in broad daylight?
A viral video from Cheras is forcing an uncomfortable reckoning.
The homeless man in his late 30s recently lost his job as a waiter.
What the video shows is unacceptable at many levels. Most of all, it forces us to confront an unsettling question: are we, as a people, losing our capacity for compassion?
As much as we take pride in our achievements as a nation, it is time we addressed the long-neglected realities of those who are forced to live in conditions of acute poverty and homelessness – and who, as a result, have become the most vulnerable to the cruelty of others.
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Will the government (and the Department of Social Welfare) ignore what is in this video and allow the problem of homelessness to grow until it becomes a national crisis?
The “Madani” government, whose very philosophy, ironically includes compassion as a core value, should reappraise its stance on homelessness. It needs to reflect on how it views people who are homeless and how it allows others to treat them.
What is the role of the Department of Social Welfare when such neglect and abuse is already happening on our streets?
Why have we failed to redistribute government spending in a meaningful and sustainable manner to help those who are homeless? Why have we failed to care for their needs?
Or has the department been too content to delegate its responsibilities to NGOs and various religious institutions?
It is also time to ask how the government intends to deal with the growing number of beggars and street people. Should this issue also be relinquished to the care of NGOs?
It is absurd to continue celebrating the image of ‘modern’ Malaysia with its gleaming skyscrapers, foreign investments and multibillion-ringgit infrastructure, when the homeless are neglected and forced to sleep on corridors and walkways outside shops (and banks).
It is time to table a policy for immediate action. It is time our national economic and social welfare policies begin to display a national will to tackle homelessness.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
