lately it has been raining heavily.. downpours in the morning, afternoon or night. doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, it will just rain. doesn’t even stop to consider whether it will trouble the little people below by raining. i’ve a theory… i think the rains are tears. tears of heaven for us, the people of malaysia.
truth to be told, i love my country to bits. it is my home for the past 24 years, and this is where my loved ones are. i love the look and feel of malaysia. it feels comfortable and familiar, unlike places where we just go for holidays, where it causes excitement and feels exotic. malaysia is home, a safe and secure nest. or so i imagine it in my tiny little head. (to be honest, i have a rather big head, but i like to pretend i have a small one.. no one likes looking like a walking lollipop ok?)
but throughout the years, it is growing increasingly hard to live in malaysia. why so, you ask? the prices of things are aiming for the sky, whereas our salaries remained stagnant or our salary increment/adjustment does not match the inflation rate. it’s hard to maintain a standard of living in malaysia.
today will be the last day where petrol price will be at rm1.92 per litre. tomorrow it will increase to an exorbitant amount of rm2.70. 41% of increase!!!!! yes, if compared to other countries in the world, malaysia has cheap petrol price, BUT our salaries are not as high as theirs.
today, a fresh graduate roughly earns rm1800 to 2500. after a year, perhaps if he is lucky he will have a 10% increase, but usually it’s less than that. and maybe throw in a month or two bonuses as a reward for his hard work. let me illustrate the living expenses of living in my beloved KUALA LUMPUR;
- rm300 rental for a decent tiny room,
- rm300 for petrol (oops, i forgot, by tomorrow it will be rm423),
- rm50 for tolls (if you are lucky not to stay at an area surrounded by tolls),
- rm100 for parking (that’s consider CHEAP!),
- rm200 (for insurance, can’t not protect yourself as medical bills can kill you faster than the illness itself),
- rm600 (for 3 meals at hawker stalls where a plate of char kuew tiao costs rm4 to rm5 and a can of coke is rm2.20 and plus some landlord doesn’t allow you to cook at home, so you gotta eat out)
- rm30 (for hp bill – the bare minimum)
- rm20 (for neccessities such as toilet paper, shampoo, toothpaste, yadda yadda, you get the drift)
- rm550 (for a rm40k car, where the hire purchase loan is stretched to 7 freaking years)
- rm200 (saved up every month for times you need to service your car and the day you gotta renew your road tax and auto insurance.)
- TOTAL AMOUNT = RM2350 which means you gotta earn at least RM2650!!!!! (as 11% is minus off to pay to EPF for your retirement) and that is not calculated with the new PETROL price.
- P/S i know that some people might say, take the public transport, it’s cheaper! which is true but our freaking public transport is inconvenient, smelly, stuffy and inconsistent.
SEE… you need to earn RM2650 and that is sufficient if you do not have any sort of entertainment fees at all, no cinemas, no shopping, no savings, no fancy restaurants, no Starbucks, no gym…. we Malaysians are a sad bunch. this is pathetic!
okay, enough about young fresh graduates, what about the elderly? 2 weeks ago, i visited my uncle who is currently around 70 plus years old, i dont know exactly how old, but he looks old and fragile, at a point where your heart goes to him, wanting to smother him with love and your eyes welled up with tears, because you desperately want to make him happy. anyway, prior to retirement, he was a headmaster to many schools, and was a well respected man. back then, he was earning quite a sum as the living standards were lower and inflation rate was lower then. after retirement, he opt for the pension scheme where he will received half of his last drawing salary… and guess how much he gets at this current time? he is getting a measly rm1000++!!!! barely sufficient to pay the bills, and support him and his old wife. OMG!!!! he is such a good man, having contributed so much to the community.. and due to the ridiculous Malaysian economy where everything is on the rise except our fecking salary, he is to suffer. AARGH. i can’t stand it. i truly truly feel his pain.
this, ladies and gentlemen, i present to you, is my beloved Malaysia.
the rain that pours recently, is tears of heaven, listening to the angst of Malaysians.