30 Oktober 2020
There are a lot of terrible things on Twitter, myself included, but one particularly irksome thing is personal finance Twitter.

As someone who's actually been poor, it's obvious to me that the advice given by these personal finance gurus are from people who've never actually experienced true poverty.

The recently announced financial literacy month, aimed to "empower the people with financial knowledge and skills" to quote a Bernama piece seemed rather tone-deaf during a time when people have lost their jobs and livelihoods through no fault of their own.

It's a problem — this belief among many of the rich and upper middle class that the poor are just poor because they make terrible decisions with their money.

Recently a Tory MP was pilloried on Twitter for defending his decision to vote against providing free meals for school children.

He said that if a parent had no money to feed their children, then why not sell the family pearls or mobile phones?

Read more: It's more income, not financial literacy that the poor need

October 30, 2020 12:13 PM
PETALING JAYA: A report from Unicef has found that the Covid-19 pandemic has created new challenges for those living in low-income housing, including the worsening of mental health and increased difficulty in maintaining their children’s education.

The UN agency’s latest “Families on the Edge” paper involved surveying residents of 500 low-cost housing flats in the Klang Valley, which accounted for nearly 3,000 individuals.

Mental health and stability issues widely affected heads of households (HoHs) in the survey, with women more likely to report they were suffering from mental and emotional strain.

Up to 22% of HoHs reported feeling depressed or experiencing extremely unstable emotions, a figure that stood at 29% for female HoHs.

Meanwhile, 42% of male HoHs and 51% of female HoHs reported feeling worried about their future, with fears surrounding their ability to provide food for their families and their diminishing retirement savings their chief concerns.

Nearly a third of female HoHs also reported observing negative behavioural changes among the people they lived with, including increased relationship tension, symptoms of depression and increased substance abuse.

Read more: Poor mental health, disrupted education main post-MCO challenges, says Unicef

Tuesday, 27 Oct 2020

GEORGE TOWN: Even though plastic bags will cost RM1 each from Jan 1, many Penangites welcome the move and feel it will be great for the environment.

From Mondays to Wednesdays next year, retailers will no longer give plastic bags while from Thursdays to Sundays, you will have to pay RM1 to get one compared with 20 sen now.

And all the shoppers interviewed seem to love the idea.

Chef Norshelyaida Hasan, 25, said plastic bags were not only bad for the environment but inconvenient too.

“I always have a few reusable bags with me at all times. Even if I forget to bring them while buying something, I just buy another reusable bag.

“Plastic bags cannot be used many times and if the contents are heavy, they tend to tear.

“With the charge going up from 20 sen to RM1, I hope it encourages more people to use reusable bags, ” she said when met at Sunshine Square in Bayan Baru yesterday.

Read more: Shoppers laud RM1 plastic bag fee

Oktober 22, 2020 05:00 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP) berpuas hati dengan jumlah barangan keperluan asas terutama stok makanan yang ada dalam pasaran negara.

Timbalan Menterinya Datuk Rosol Wahid berkata selain memastikan bekalan mencukupi, kementerian juga akan mengambil langkah agresif bagi menjamin kestabilan harga ketika negara mendepani gelombang ketiga pandemik COVID-19.

"KPDNHEP memantau rantaian pembekalan barangan di peringkat pengilang, peladang, pemborong dan peruncit bagi memastikan bekalan barangan itu mencukupi selain mengelak isu manipulasi harga oleh peniaga," katanya dalam kenyataan selepas mengadakan lawatan dan pemeriksaan di sebuah pasar raya di sini malam ini.

Rosol turut menasihati pengguna tidak membuat pembelian panik, khususnya melibatkan barangan keperluan asas ketika menjalani Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan Bersyarat (PKPB).

Mengenai tindakan penguatkuasaan yang dijalankan KPDNHEP, beliau berkata sebanyak 81 kes membabitkan pelbagai kesalahan berkaitan harga dan bekalan barangan direkodkan sejak pelaksanaan PKPB di Sabah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur serta Putrajaya.

Read more: PKPB: KPDNHEP jamin bekalan keperluan asas mencukupi, harga stabil

Wednesday, 21 Oct 2020 09:01 AM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Around seven in 10 Malaysians in an international poll place more priority on environmental protection, even if it comes at the expense of economic growth and the creation of more job opportunities.

In the recent International Science Survey 2019-2020 by United States-based pollster Pew Research Centre, Malaysians were asked which statement came closer to their view, even if neither was exactly right.

The two options given were “Protecting the environment should be given priority, even if it causes slower economic growth and some loss of jobs”, and “Creating jobs should be given the top priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent”.

Based on the survey results as released in a report last month, the overwhelming majority or 73 per cent of the 1,650 respondents in Malaysia chose environmental protection, while 27 per cent chose job creation, with the remaining one per cent either declining to answer or giving other answers.

This matches with the median percentage of 71 per cent respondents for the 20 countries surveyed — including Malaysia — that chose environmental protection as the top priority, and the median of 25 per cent which would prioritise job creation.

Read more: Survey: Seven in 10 Malaysians polled think protecting environment more important than creating jobs