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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

One illness away from poverty for some Malaysians

Continuing our series on the high cost of living, The Malaysian Insider looks at low-income families who are also in poor health. These families have almost no savings and cannot stop working because they have mouths to feed and medicines to buy.
Eswari Raghavan has a heart ailment but she is forced to continue working at her flower stall to feed herself and her daughters. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, September 3, 2014.Eswari Raghavan has a heart ailment but she is forced to continue working at her flower stall to feed herself and her daughters. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, September 3, 2014.
Eswari Raghavan would have fainting spells after sweeping the floor, cooking or tying up the flower garlands that she sells to feed herself and her two daughters.
But the 38-year-old widow and single mother soldiers on even though her doctor has warned her that her crippled heart cannot handle stress and that too much activity can be lethal.
Due to the rising prices of food and household items, they have to risk their health and work long hours just to make enough to get by.
And because they have little or no savings, their families could fall into poverty if they fall sick and are unable to work.
Although they have relatives who could probably help out with a donation or two, these families are also strapped for cash and have their own children to feed.
There is some government support, but Eswari feels that it is not enough for someone in her condition.
She gets RM820 from the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and RM80 from the Welfare Department (JKM). JKM has also paid for half of the two operations she’s had on her heart at Universiti Hospital.
“The university is chasing me for the other half of the cost. I can’t pay them because I need the money for my daughters’ education,” Eswari said when met at her flat in Abdullah Hukum, Kuala Lumpur.
Norasah Bachik serving a customer at her stall. She suffers from knee pain but continues to make and sell nasi lemak to support the family. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, September 3, 2014.Norasah Bachik serving a customer at her stall. She suffers from knee pain but continues to make and sell nasi lemak to support the family. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, September 3, 2014.Eswari’s neighbour, Norasah Bachik, has her own ailments which hamper her ability to provide for her husband.
The 60-year-old has problems walking because of knee pain but she continues to make and sell nasi lemak and kuih in the morning to support her and her husband.
Her husband Othman Simin, 64, has had heart surgery and can’t handle strenuous work.
“It is hard but I must push myself to work in order to earn more,” said Norasah, who started selling nasi lemak five days a week after her husband fell sick. Before that, she only made and sold kuih.
She has two sons who stay with her, Yazid and Rafi, both of whom make RM1,500 a month each. Yazid and Rafi stay with their parents to help them out.
Yazid has started selling samosas at night at the same stall his mother uses.
"I had to start selling samosas because my income just wasn’t enough for me and my parents. We are really struggling because everything is expensive now.”
In another flat in Taman Sri Sentosa, Petaling Jaya, Yee Seng Yean tells of how he and his 78-year-old wife are still doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood to make enough for their medicine and food.
“Back in the day, I was a carpenter in Kampung Petaling Tin. Now I do odd jobs. I can earn RM60 to RM70 a day from painting jobs.”
His wife, Yong Yok Moi, 78, who is hunched over from old age and struggles to walk, washes dishes at a nearby restaurant for RM20 a day.
They have not had any serious ailments recently that have prevented them from working but Yee admits that an illness at this stage would make their lives very difficult.
“Collectively we can earn RM1,500 a month, but that all boils down to whether we manage to work that month,” said Yee.
“If we get short on money I ask my kids but they are also struggling to get by,” he added.
Yee Seng Yean and his wife, Yong Yok Moi, do odd jobs to pay for their medicine and food. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, September 3, 2014.Yee Seng Yean and his wife, Yong Yok Moi, do odd jobs to pay for their medicine and food. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, September 3, 2014.Fortunately, their former neighbours from Kampung Petaling Tin, M. Sugumaran and his siblings regularly take turns to visit and look in on them.
“We have applied to the Welfare Department for help, but so far there hasn’t been any response.”
In other cases, the strenuous nature of the low-paying jobs they take and the long hours at which they have to work are already causing injuries for the breadwinners of working-class families.
Michael De Cruz drives a lorry for eight hours a day before starting another eight-hour shift at the wheel of a taxi.
Both vehicles have manual transmissions and the tightness of the clutch system jams the muscles in his left leg. The delicate muscles at the sides of his knees are especially raw and painful at the end of the day.
“Luckily I can ask my wife to massage my leg at the end of the day,” he smiles when talking of his job in our interview at his flat in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.
He rests only once a month because the RM50 a day he earns from driving the taxi is used for food and household necessities.
“If he doesn’t drive for two days, there is no money in hand to buy the things we need,” said De Cruz’s wife M Rathyaga.”
De Cruz also does not want to quit from his day job as the medical benefits are good and covers his wife and children.
“Hopefully I can last for another two years and then get a taxi with automatic transmission. Then hopefully it won’t be so bad”.
- TMI

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