Now, we all know what essentials are. These include basic food necessities, medicines and so forth, right?
But what if someone uses aid money to purchase items that are not considered essentials?
Activist Syed Azmi took to his Facebook page to call out a woman for using aid money to purchase food items such as lollipops and a chocolate bar for her child, as it’s not considered essentials.
This image is for illustration purposes only.
He wrote, “Aduii, in the end, it’s the purchaser’s choices. I’m monitoring this one as the money is meant to be used in a long period of time.”
Among the items listed in the woman’s grocery bill, he pointed out several items that he considers non-essentials. This includes chrysanthemum tea, lollipops, chocolate bars and fish satays, which totals up to RM15.50.
In his exchange with the woman, he asked her why she purchased the candies, to which she replied that her kid was throwing a tantrum at the grocery store and that she couldn’t control them.
“I had to make this post because I want to prevent other (aid) applications from doing this. I love children and it’s okay to buy snacks but there has to be a limit. If it’s within a maximum of RM10 then it would be okay for me,”
“After the money changes hands, the people’s aid money will turn into money that belongs to the applicant and they have the right to buy anything. With education, they can plan to make smart purchases. This is more important,” he explained, adding that he only asked the woman about her choices in an effort to educate her on spending wisely.
While many have agreed that the candies are not essential and that the woman should be smarter with her spending, others pitied her as parenting isn’t easy.
“Maybe this entire time she hasn’t had money, so when her child asked (for candy) she couldn’t fulfill the request. When she received the (aid) money, she bought for the child.”
“Once in a while, for the happiness of the kid. They too want to feel what their friends are feeling.”
“Maybe she felt like, what’s wrong with buying because she has money at that point. It’s to let the child feel a little happy, maybe this way it brings more joy to her and her kid’s life. We can’t judge other people’s parenting.”
What do you think? Should the woman have stuck to purchasing only essential items with the aid money, or is it okay for her to have bought some candies for her kid?
Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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