Floods and cheques
Its the worst flood in Malaysian for a hundred years.. so the papers tell me...Down in Johor, for the second time in 2 months, half the state is in water 1 meter deep. Though hardly as lethal as other natural disasters, namely the Tsunami in Indonesia and Hurracaine Katrina these few years, i guess the effect is no less devastation to those involved.
Its been sort of a mini disaster for the nation, some 100 thousand people had to be evacuated... again, schools closed, towns completely cut off, people left sitting on their rooftops, and the kids having a great time playing in the water!
When the floods came last month, it was because it rained for 48 hours non stop. "The heaviest rain in 100 years" they said. So after about 1 week, the poor citizens there finally got to go back to their homes. From the paper, it said that most of them came back to a house half ruined, with things swept away by the floods and for some, by looters. Rats..... Anyway, all the major news agency covered it day in and day out, telling the rest of the nation how 'kesian' these folks were... No doubt, i have nothing but sympathy for the people of Johor. Heck, my own father's working there right now. Thankfully, his place wasnt affected as badly.
And just when nobody expected it, it happened again. Just as the people there were starting to asses the damage, the rain started pouring for another 48 hours. This time, the worst in like.... well.... a month really. Double whammy. So now, the whole nation is in a frenzy, trying to help out. Donations start pouring in, everyone from the local assemblyman to the Prime Minister has given the place a visit, rightfully. Every single day, in the papers and in the media, there is some company giving a few hundred thousand dollars for crisis relieve.
But like many others, i have my doubts about their sincerity. Firstly, why is it when you give out a couple of hundred thousand dollars, you MUST call the press? Why is it that there must be some sort of media coverage to the company giving out the donation? To speak frankly, its seems some companies use other misfortune to their own advantage, trying to come across as socially responsible and caring to the country. They present mock checks to the officials, with as many zero's they can squeeze in to the check, down to the cents, just to make the sum look big.
If you ask me, sincere and true donations are done from the heart, and you dont need media publicity to show anyone. Charity is not done for others to see. Its done for the people involved. The strongest example was during the Tsunami in Indonesia last time. There was an acute shortage of drinkable water for the people there. The local shopping mall had a drive; buy one dozen bottles of water to be sent to the victims. On the exterior, it seemed like a noble idea. Trying to get the society to buy water for these victims. But the nagging question i had was, if you are really trying to help those people, why are you waiting for someone to buy them from you to send the water? Why dont you just send it straight to them and bare the cost? Why make people pay you before you do anything? Of course, they had to protect their own pocket before doing any charity.
I guess the government kind of knew that. This time, they tried a different approach. Adopt a village they said. Instead of just giving cash at fancy mock presentation ceremonies, why not commit yourselves to the rebuilding of these villages destroyed by the floods? That way, the companies can truly say they have done something. Not surprisingly, there have been little if none takers of such proposals. Only government linked companies have said yes, while the rest of the corporate world have remained muted. Ha! Now we see just how committed they are! Just giving cash it easy. Talk is cheap. When it gets down to the doing, nobody wants to lend a hand. Again, thats the attitude of some people for you. They tell you all that is wrong in this world, they tell of all the help that could be given, but when you ask for a show of commitment, everyone runs like hell.
That's just the way it goes with large corporations. They want to make sure everyone knows just how caring they are! But its all really a publicity stunt. Blame it on all the PR students out there, for making them sound more caring then they really are.
The true heroes of it are always the unsung ones. The men and women who volunteer themselves to help out, over there. Members of the red cross and red crescent society, people who truly volunteer with no personal gain to help others in need. Doctors and nurse who volunteered their services in time of need, dropping whatever they were doing, in the name of humanity. The local fishermen who willingly lend their boats for rescue services, the people who gave up their homes to be used as relief centres, and countless other nameless people who stood up, lent a hand and made a difference to those in need. Not those who sit in their corporate office, pledging funds to the cause while busy filling their pockets at the same time, worrying if the mock check is big enough.
My heart and prayers go out to all the flood victims in Johor, who have to endure not one, but two great floods over these months.
posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 3:45 pm
Comments: 0
