What is it like to live in Malaysia as a poor Malaysian?

Answered by Noraina Rashid | www.quora.com

Lack opportunity. Inferiority Complex. In need of luck.

I grew up poor. Not dirt poor but more towards urban poor. My dad is not working due to his health, my mum at that time is just a tutor with 3 young kids.

1. Opportunities are limited for urban poor which are more likely to be classified as middle income class. You can’t do farming to be self sustainable. You don’t get hand outs because you are not considered living in poverty.

You are basically poor without any help. Start of school year is the hardest because my parents need to buy me new books because I am ineligible for free textbooks (that is until 2008 when the government declare all are eligible for the free textbook scheme). I am the eldest, so there are no hands me down here.

2. I am not discriminated but I feel inferior. I don’t have Roxy or hard rock cafe merchandises. My parents bought me oversized uniforms so it can fit me until I finish the whole 5 years of high school. I scrounge the dumping ground at end of school years (I am in a boarding school) so I can keep good shoes, stationery and even detergents that has been thrown away by schoolmates to be used on the following year. I feel as if I am less worthy of anything and struggled so hard in high school to prove I am worthy of the opportunity given.

3. I need luck so bad in grabbing life changing opportunities. Luck is a mix of good opportunity and hard work. Hard work is easy but getting the breakthrough opportunity is very rare. Some didn’t find it throughout their lifetime.

My family's’ life turn better when my mum finishes her PhD and doubled her income. Having experiencing both poor life and comfortable life now, there are somethings I can learn from being poor.

Happiness is not necessarily need money. My parents are tense during the hard times but I live in a happy household. My dad always say “enjoy when you have it, live as usual when its gone”.
In a lot of things, the poor are at a disadvantage despite all governments initiatives though it did help.

 Civil society need to take charge because there are many types of poverty nowadays. I had better life just because my mum is well educated and I went into a good boarding school. My younger brothers need to hustle in public schools to get the same opportunity I had.

The only way out is through. My tolerance to bulls*ts are higher compared to my better to do peers.
As I said before, I am lucky. But most are not and remain trapped in the poverty cycle.