Band-aid!

The Malaysian Ministry of Health is crying. Medical services are on the brink of collapse. The government has decided to slash funding for one of its most important sectors, believing more money should be spent on petrol subsidies instead. Even though the COVID pandemic has shown how important medical services are, it has failed to convince the rulers.

The learned Ministry blames the imminent breakdown on unpatriotic young doctors who refuse to serve in government hospitals and peripheral health facilities. Another bone of contention is that many are hell-bent on seeking greener pastures, with some signing up to work in Singapore. Some have even given up on medicine and failed to turn up for duty.

Then the country suddenly realised, as if it happened overnight, that there is a massive Rohingya illegal migrant population in the country. As the economic pie shrinks, the local populace sees its opportunities slowly taken over by hard-working migrants.

That is the problem, is it not? Everyone wants to survive, if not be one step better than the generation before them. Medical officers who pass must think of their future, the family that has been with them and the one they plan to start, and map a future for themselves. They must want a strategy. Naturally, they would follow the path that would provide these opportunities.

Economic migrants escape treacherous living conditions that their ancestors endured. They also have to prove to themselves that taking the bold move of leaving the land of their forefathers was the correct one. Make hay while the sun is out. In the spring of youth, starting a family and building an economic foundation is high on the list. When Malaysia, with its lax security and welcoming people, offered them a safe haven, they grabbed it at once. Slowly, they took in their relatives. The dangerous trip away from their war zone was all worth it because of what they found in this peaceful land of Malaysia.

The guardians of security also thought the same. They needed to survive. They knew the peanuts they were getting as government servants were going to roll them down the country's economic food chain, at a time when wealth is worn on the sleeve and flaunted as if it were the most natural thing to do. Politicians also found the Rohingya's entry the most humane option, because voters would see them as benevolent and thereby increase their vote bank. It did not matter that Malaysia was not a signatory to the UN charter on accepting refugees and did not have a plan to handle a massive influx of migrants.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Somehow, now, the vilification of the guests is justified. Rohingyas comprise 0.3% of the population, but their problem seems to hog the headlines. Daily, the news reports quarrels, murders and rape perpetrated by one of them, which possibly skews the national narrative towards a certain direction.

That is the situation we are in right now.

Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!

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