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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Muruku crushed in a mug of coffee

Muruku crushed in a mug of coffee
“I would love to have muruku crushed in a cup of coffee,” says a mother, in response to my question of what would make her happy for Deepavali.
All she wanted was to "make muruku from at least three packets for the family”.
The grandmother retorted that it wouldn’t be sufficient, at least 10 packets would be needed, she said with a big smile, for the family of seven.
When prodded on about what else they would like, a few excitedly said “chicken curry and if possible mutton”. But another voice shot it down saying mutton will not be possible. The children have been asking when the women will be making muruku but it seemed to be not possible, said the women.
This is the reality of a sector of Malaysian society, that sector which for generations has been contributing to the nation’s wealth. This is the estate sector, the rubber tappers. While many have been waiting for rain and are thankful for it, for this group, rain means no work and so no productivity which means less pay at the end of the month.
Other daily rated workers whose income is affected by weather join this fray. For rubber tappers, wages are affected also by latex yields and price.
Do we know how much rubber tappers earn, how their income is calculated?
Simple food is top on the wish list for Deepavali, not even clothes. It gives us a clue as to what the wages are like.
We could "hang out” these next few days, at least once, in shops/market places where our plantation workers will head to, if at all, to buy whatever they can, perhaps collectively as they said they have done in the past.
For some, bulk is added by buying four carcass of chicken to one chicken and the resulting chicken curry is stretched for about three days.
It’s the small towns too, the outskirts, we should be looking at. We should also pay attention to the clothes, the footwear.
Maybe some cannot come out for once yearly trip even. Then perhaps we will ask if the big players in the plantation sector better do justice where it is due instead of doing “corporate social responsibility” by giving charity dinners and hampers to orphans and children’s homes come this Deepavali (or any other festival).
Should that corporate responsibility first and foremost be towards those who through their sweat created the wealth, I mean the responsibility of providing a living wage?
Workers and their families need nutritious food and other basic needs every day, not once a year, and not a select minute group.
But it’s not rubber tappers alone whose pay cannot meet basic needs. It’s just that next Wednesday is Deepavali and a good number of Malaysians who are still tapping rubber celebrate Deepavali.
Is life any different for those who walked the same estates 57 years ago?
I wonder if the women are going to borrow money so they can have some cheer, besides their religious practice of going to the Temple which is within walking distance. –TMI

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