The Covid-19 breakout in Malaysia is getting somewhat out of hand considering the shortages of medical supplies such as masks and sanitisers, especially for those working at the front lines of the battle.
But that’s not all, there are communities in Malaysia that are poor and marginalised, who are also in big trouble during this viral outbreak due to their lack of access to healthcare, clean living conditions and affordable food sources. These communities include the elderly, people with disabilities, low income earners, refugees, and immigrants (legal or not) working in Malaysia, as according to The Star.
Due to such problems, netizens are now starting a new social media challenge, in which they chose to donate a day’s worth of their salaries to a charity of their choice during this outbreak. Yu Ren Chung took to his Twitter profile to explain the mechanics of the #GajiSehariChallenge.
?Request to ??
Money is tight. But frontliners, the poor & the marginalised are struggling the most.
If u can, pls join the #GajiSehariChallenge to fight COVID19 & help those in need.
How? Copy/paste the Tweet?. RT with your chosen group & 3 friends.#KitaJagaKita Pls RT? https://t.co/VVp9OTByQa
— Yu Ren Chung (@renchung) March 24, 2020
He wrote, “Request to Malaysians, money is tight. But front liners, the poor and the marginalised are struggling the most. If you can, please join the #GajiSehariChallenge to fight Covid-19 and help those in need.”
“I commit to donating 1 day’s salary to Mercy Malaysia, to fight Covid-19 and help Malaysians in need. Please join me. Pick a group from KitaJagaKita, copy and paste this tweet, retweet and tag 3 friends,” he added in a different tweet.
It’s refreshing to see what Malaysians are willing to do and give in hopes of helping others during such trying times.
But another netizen also pointed out an important question. How much are our Malaysian ministers willing to give to help the people?
Aruna (@Iamfsea_aruna) took to his Twitter profile to call for Malaysia’s new 2020 cabinet ministers to give up 50% of their monthly salaries in order to help those in need as people are immensely suffering.
❤?? Dear fellow Malaysians, join me in demanding that salaries of all these Cabinet Ministers be reduced by 50% till Covid-19 flattens in Malaysia.
NON OF THEM ARE POOR BY ANY STANDARDS. THEY ARE WEALTHY & CAN SACRIFICE. Money saved should go for frontline workers benefits pic.twitter.com/GFYIQJhjJ2— aruna (@imfsea_aruna) March 20, 2020
He wrote, “Dear fellow Malaysians, join me in demanding that salaries of all these cabinet ministers be reduced by 50% until the Covid-19 curve flattens in Malaysia. None of them are poor by any standards. They are wealthy and can sacrifice. Money saved should go to front line workers benefits.”
I mean, if the Malaysian people who are barely earning much are willing to help, as well as the fact that the Sepanggar MP has already donated his entire salary to the needy in his area during this MCO, it’s safe to say that ministers who are earning insanely high salaries can and should take these citizens as examples and follow suit to the best extent that they can.
The Covid-19 outbreak is no laughing matter and with humanity at risk, it’ll take all our cooperation and assistance in order for us to pull through.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comment section.
Also read: Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah Says Viral Newspaper Clipping On Ministers’ Salary Is False