Should we be lending a hand to others when there is still so much to do here?
I have never been against anyone lending a helping hand to those in need – provided he or she has enough for their own family first.
To me personally, this principle also applies to the government of any country.
Before a government can go about assisting those from another nation, it should be sure every one of its citizens has enough first and are well taken care of.
As someone from East Malaysia, I can say for sure that there is still plenty to do for Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak.
From a lack of medical facilities to schools, water, electricity and roads – the list goes on.
A large number here live in poverty and parents struggle to feed their children and get them to school.
This is what makes me wonder – why our government would be willing to offer RM11.47 million worth of scholarships to Palestinian students when our own backyards are still not clean.
Recently, our Prime Minister announced that 12 local universities will be offering scholarships to Palestinian students living here.
He said this would be for them to pursue bachelor, masters and PhD courses and RM11.47 million will be raised by the universities for this.
The scholarships will be offered through the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM).
As it stands now, the matriculation issue remains a sore point for many Malaysians and there is yet to be any sound solution to this.
For me personally, this seems like rubbing salt into our wounds.
Though RM11 million may not seem like a huge amount, it can make a big difference to many poor Malaysians.
I just wonder – why so many richer nations remain quiet and opt to focus on their own issues while Malaysia, which still has a large number of people living in poverty opens their arms to everyone?
There are so many issues here – social, political, poverty, crime, etc, and yet we sometimes act like we are a super-rich, trouble-free nation and welcome just about anyone into our country.
For me personally, this is something which is totally uncalled for and akin to inviting unwanted trouble.
We are a nation trying to rise from the ashes and our once upon time neighbours whom we used to look down on, have since fast caught up.
Soon, we may end up going to Indonesia as maids and workers, while I recently read somewhere that Vietnam will be more advanced than us in the next three years.
It is time for us, especially our leaders, to look beyond our borders. We cannot hide in our caves and pretend that things will unravel by themselves.
We are wasting time on non-issues while others are focusing on what is necessary and fast improving.
Let us focus on our own nation-building and push Malaysia ahead instead of trying to get a pat on the back doing unnecessary things.