Can We Give RM100 Million to Gaza?

 

PMX stood at Dataran Merdeka recently and announced an additional RM100 million in aid for Gaza. The move drew thunderous applause from the crowd. But beneath the cheer, a quieter question lingers: what about the struggles of those at home? 

PMX means well for the people of Gaza, but here’s the reality check: Malaysia’s public healthcare system is collapsing. Between 2021 and 2023, more than 3,000 contract doctors resigned, while house officer appointments plummeted by almost 50% from over 6,100 in 2019 to just 3,271 in 2023. Even specialists are leaving, with resignations spiking by 57% in recent years. A staggering 62% of permanent healthcare staff say they’re considering quitting.

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Patients are literally dying in hospitals because there aren’t enough doctors or nurses to care for them. So the obvious question is this: how do we suddenly find RM100 million for Gaza when our own rakyat cannot even get proper healthcare? 

This isn’t about opposing aid to Palestine. Compassion should have no borders. But leadership is about priorities, and priorities reveal truth. Our economy is grinding under tariffs, SMEs are bleeding, civil servants are drowning in debt, and yet the government finds ample funds to send abroad while locals wait for basic relief. MITRA allocations remain “under negotiation.” Indian Malaysians are still waiting. Meanwhile, 72% of all gangsters are Indian. 

Let’s look closer at what ordinary Malaysians are going through. 

Food prices are spiralling. Rice, cooking oil, chicken, and eggs the staples of Malaysian households are becoming luxuries for the poor. Even the M40 are feeling the pinch. Parents quietly skip meals so their children can eat. Housewives cut back on vegetables and meat because every ringgit must stretch. When charity abroad overshadows survival at home, it breeds resentment. 

Fresh graduates face an unforgiving job market. Youth unemployment hovers at around 12.3%, far above the national average. Many end up driving Grab, delivering food, or running small online shops just to stay afloat. This is a wasted generation talented young people boxed into underemployment because the government hasn’t created opportunities. While our youth hustle for RM2,000 a month, we have promised Trump we will buy RM86 billion of US goods. 

Small and medium enterprises are part of Malaysia’s economy, making up 97.2% of businesses, nearly half of all jobs, and contributing 38.2% of GDP. Yet many shop lots are shuttered. Rents are high, consumer spending is weak, and loan repayments crush small traders. From tailors in Brickfields to kedai runcit owners in kampungs, the song is the same: business is dying. These are the people who actually fuel the local economy, and they are left to sink while Putrajaya talks about generosity to the outside world. 

Even government servants, who once had stable careers, are living pay check to pay check. More than 40% of them reportedly face financial strain, and bankruptcies are rising. Teachers, clerks, police officers they are not asking for luxuries, just a decent wage that matches the rising cost of living. Instead, they see their tax money packaged as humanitarian gestures overseas. 

Young Malaysians cannot afford homes in KL, Penang, or Johor Bahru. Even small condos are out of reach, with down payments and loans locking them out of the property market. The frustration is real: we can talk about rebuilding homes in Gaza, but our own rakyat can’t even secure a roof over their heads. 

Farmers struggle with low returns on their crops, fishermen with shrinking catches, and Orang Asli communities remain marginalized with poor access to education and healthcare. Their needs are urgent, their voices quiet. But the message they hear is that their suffering is secondary to international posturing. 

After all, this is the people’s tax money. We pay expecting it to fund healthcare, infrastructure, and national well-being. If the government can freely give it away to outsiders while neglecting citizens, then why should the tax rate remain as it is? If charity abroad comes before survival at home, the logic is dumb. 

The government’s message is clear: international posturing sells. It rallies crowds, wins headlines, and elevates Malaysia’s moral voice. But leadership is not about applause; it is about bread and butter. And right now, bread is expensive, butter is scarce, and hospitals are short-staffed, and in schools’ students and teachers are bullied! 

Reference:

OPINION | Anwar’s RM100 Million for Gaza: Charity Abroad, Neglect at Home,

Annan Vaithegi, https://newswav.com, 29 August 2025