International NGO Oxfam revealed that Asia’s billionaires have increased their wealth by 74 percent while 148 million others in the region have been pushed into poverty since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The only solution which people are talking about nowadays is about taking out their own Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings. We live in such a desperate situation and it is clear that the majority of people are pushed to the corner while the super-rich make and increase their profits.

Every time we talk about increasing the minimum wage, increasing the social security of the rakyat, the employers will organise themselves and fight to the teeth to keep wages and welfare benefits low.

The current political parties believe in all sorts of obsolete ideas like the trickle-down theory and wonders of neoliberal policies. In Latin America, one after another government is falling because the problems of the majority are not solved.

It is time we need a party to raise the plight of the majority of the people. While 40 percent of our economy is controlled by the GLCs (government-linked companies), they are not missioned to eradicate poverty and bring down the income disparity. They are just there to give fat salaries and ensure the status quo of political support for the elite.

The Oxfam report proposed several solutions like increased taxation on rich individuals and companies and greater investment in public services and social protection.

These are exactly the kind of things that Parti Sosialis Malaysia has been talking about, which will help reduce inequality and a better future for the many. Instead of addressing these, our politics and policies are riddled with racial and religious stimulants to keep us numb.

S Arutchelvan is PSM deputy chairperson.

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