PETALING JAYA: Two consumer groups and a volunteer society have denounced the practice of imprinting party logos and portraits of politicians on aid packages.
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They say it is a cheap political stunt to claim credit for giving aid that is partly paid for by taxpayers.
N Marimuthu, president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, said it was a shameless act, adding that politicians in power appeared to be “totally disconnected” from the people’s suffering.
He observed that some of the images were imprinted on plastic that could cost RM5 apiece and said the money could have been used to buy extra loaves of bread.
“Sometimes I wonder what runs in the minds of these politicians,” he said. “I see long queues for food aid and I can see the pain on the faces of these needy Malaysians. Do you think it will cheer these people up to see the faces of their YBs?
“This is a direct form of campaigning, using the plight of poor Malaysians who have lost their income.
“They are given taxpayers’ money and they shamelessly use our money to campaign.”
He urged Putrajaya to put an end to the practice immediately.
His comments follow the publication on social media of pictures showing the distribution of food aid.
Consumers Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader said it was shocking that politicians were resorting to such “cheap politics” during a health and economic crisis.
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“People do not want to see the smiling faces of heavily made-up ministers or MPs on the packs,” he said.
“These actions at a time when so many people are dying daily just does not make sense to many.”
He described the practice as a moral wrong because public funds were used for the aid.
“The government must ask the MPs to stop claiming credit for using the people’s money to help people,” he said, adding that politicians should bring a semblance of decency and morality to whatever they did.
Kembara Kitchen co-founder William Cheah called it a waste of resources.
Estimating that a sticker might cost between 10 sen and 50 sen, he said: “That’s a lot of eggs.”
Kembara Kitchen, a social enterprise made up of volunteers, was among the organisations that quickly got to work during the first movement control order in March last year.
Cheah said elected representatives, instead of trying to get publicity for themselves, should be helping in the coordination of efforts to help the needy.
He noted that food banks had mushroomed since the start of the White Flag campaign that calls on people to hoist a flag outside their house if they are in dire need of aid.-FMT