Nuar M

Monday, March 7, 2011

I came about an article entitled Poverty To Be Erased, Not Managed by a local author. The article which was academically structured gave readers an understanding of what poverty is all about in terms of Islamic definition and how the definition could be applied in the Bruneian context. However, from the title itself I would have to respectfully disagree with the author as I am a person who believes that when the situation is managed accordingly, poverty could be a history of the past for the next generation. Having a research paper on the underlying causes of poverty in Brunei Darussalam, eradicating it is far too ambitious at this moment as only a magic potion would do the trick. It takes time (even decades) to solve this ongoing issue. The scenario here is that different families who are deemed poor holds a different case as to other poor families. They may be similar in definition-wise, but under the microscope, introducing a uniform policy to eradicate poverty will benefit one family at the expense of the other.

"The number of Bruneians who receive financial assistance up to this point in time continues to increase"

This statement is a factual statement that I have to agree on. The mentality of our people that when you are in debt because of your loan, then you are eligible to apply for financial assistance from the Government. Where is the gracefulness of these people? Aren't they the ones who are causing themselves to be poor in the first place?

"Thus, we can see poor people who are classified as 'Fakir' or 'Miskin' in the country but who can afford to own TV Astro, a mobile phone, even cars.

However, I'll have to disagree with this statement. Is the author comparing poverty in Brunei with those in Africa who are basically homeless, shabby, and begging for food? The author has to realize that we don't see that in Brunei because the Government takes care of the welfare of its people to avoid such scenarios. However, with regards to owning a TV, most of the poor families whom I visited (100 altogether around Brunei) said that it was a gift given to them, although some insane household opted to loan for a TV set which is ridiculous. About cars, the real poor if they do own a car, it would be something you would consider a junk, but to them it is a vital asset to help them transport their kids to school and drive them to work. We have to take into account that public transport here is not accessible at some areas. They make the best out of the rusty metal and when it breaks down, it would be one of those days when they'll have to walk to their destination or find a caring friend to give them a ride. This daunting situation happens, only that it's unheard of. Thus, before making any judgement on their assets, talk to them and get to know their insights firsthand. Note that I wrote real poor in Italics above, I would like you to know that I am not referring to those skunk who bankrupted themselves because of obtaining a loan for the 36th item (laptop, TV, home theatre, car #1, car #2 etc) they are paying for monthly. Unfortunately, this situation is the one which is commonly heard of and referred to as Al-Gharimin poor! Masya'Allah.

"Rather than seek to eradicate it, most serve only to 'manage' poverty. Instead of trying to solve the problem of poverty, the relevant ministries, as well as the people, tend to be attracted to the less complicated option, which is to "just give the money". To them, giving the money will solve the whole issue. Will it?"

Another point that I disagree strongly, on what basis would the author describe the ministries as generous donors but not great policy makers? Actually there are different programmes being provided such as providing them with sewing machine for those who have the skill in it, lawn-mower, and various others that could be applied for. All these are aiming towards the recipients being dependent on their own income from the assistance provided. However, in most cases, these level of being dependent died quicker than you thought as somehow they aren't motivated to earn hard work income as opposed to the other option i.e. cash handouts. This goes back to the mentality of our people: stop being spoiled for once! Overall, I do agree with the author that giving money is just a temporary cycle of mitigating the problem, the big picture comes back again when the cash pile is low. In order for it to work well, both parties should play their part.

"It will also create excessive dependency among the poor because they believe that they will definitely get the financial support either from the government, NGOs or private individuals. This could eventually lead poor people to fall into the "laziness disease""

The author has summarized the mentality of our people who are under the welfare scheme. Of the 100 households I interviewed, it was a 100% record to this laziness disease.

Hence what is the true picture of the poor in Brunei? From my experience, there are those who are genuinely poor but do not receive any support from relevant agencies (sad ones); there are those who became poor from their own negligent act (excessive loans); and those who are poor but hidden within the normal society (their house may look normal from the outside but the life inside is financially poor, usually resulted from mismanagement of wealth). All in all, this is just my two cents, no pun intended! cheers.

posted at 3/07/2011 08:01:00 PM by Nuar Mohammad