Page 22 - Asia Speaks

8) URBAN RESILIENCE by Zulhilmi Bin Zabri
Urban resilience is a city’s ability to survive, adapt and grow in the face of many chronic stresses. One of the most prominent challenges is the problem of urban poverty which is plaguing the low-income groups. On 23rd of August 2019 Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur had reported that Malaysia poverty rate of 0.4% is inaccurate and the poverty rate is higher than the official figures suggested.
This is mainly due to inflation and a stagnant minimum wage which has plagued the nation for a long time. The report stated that 9% of the total household are living and surviving on less than RM2,000.00 per month, less than RM8.00 per person per day. The statistic came as very shocking, but it’s a reality to those living below poverty on a daily basis. Some families can’t afford a sole breadwinner resulting both parents having to work in making ends meet. Some even resorting to working 2 or 3 jobs just to afford their daily basic necessities.
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This causes the youngster unable to experience parental love and guidance, as the parents are absence especially during their adolescent years. In short, they are prone and vulnerable to social ills in order to fill the void and emptiness of lack of parental love and attention.
In combating this, the community with the assistance from the government must play an active role in curbing urban poverty, if there’s no supervision or the problems are not being addressed soon enough, social problems will become more rampant within the society.
The department of statistic Malaysia has always done an excellent job in providing an accurate statistic of the household in Malaysia. We should use the data collected and accumulated to include the families living below the poverty line to provide a systematic way of distributing help to families in need.
In Malaysia, there’s a lot of Mosque prevalent within the community. They should play an active role in
allocating and distributing basic needs and necessities to those in need. As this was the practice of the Prophet, to help those who are in need.
This practice of giving to those in need would usually spiked during the fasting month of Ramadhan, however it would be best if the practice of giving is sustainable throughout the year. This act of kindness may seem small, but it is considered a lifesaver to those truly in need.
In short, urban poverty constitutes one of the challenges of urban resilience. In order to combat this, the community with the assistance from the government should play an active role in empowering itself in helping those in need as a sign and a show of equal wealth distribution within the community. Only by working together can a community solve any problems and overcome any challenges and obstacles that may arise in the near future.