No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck. - Frederick Douglass
NEW An estate in Hulu Selangor is caught in a time warp: it has not moved beyond the 19th century and life there is an unremitting cycle of misery, poverty, despair. The estate folk lived and worked like slaves for a company whose master is known for his fabulous wealth. The children's future is indeed bleak. They are malnourished and sick and have no or little hope of ever getting a decent education. While normal children elsewhere laugh and play games and enjoy their innocent childhood, the same children of God in the estate live their days in pain and despondency. The little ones and their equally famished parents have nowhere to go for help because the people who lord over them made sure the outside world does not have any inkling of the deplorable condition that exists behind the green cover. But the tycoon and all his minions have forgotten that this is the 21st century and there is no way slavery can escape the scrutiny of the ever vigilant online press.
How is it possible that the plight of the estate workers had gone unnoticed these many decades? Surely, the management knows the state of affairs in its own backyard. Surely the MIC, which claims to represent the interest of the Indian community, knows the true situation. Unfortunately, they have all turned a blind eye while the exploitation continued unabated. For the magnate, it is the insatiable greed for money that has blinded his vision and blunted his conscience. For the political party, it is its murky politics that has shut out its mind from the reality on the ground. Money and politics are the twin evils that have always worked to the disadvantage of the common people. Their combined power has made slaves out of people and servants out of nations. The man with money can oil the political machine and get favours in return while the man with power can make business happen. The estate workers are mere pawns in the game of politics and business. They have no say in making a living.
Still, plantation companies must be governed by moral laws. They cannot remain silent while their workers live on meagre salary and in unhygienic surroundings. It is unethical of bosses to live in the lap of luxury while their workers languish in poverty. It is morally wrong to pull the wool over people's eyes by presenting slide shows of the good things the management has done but which do not reflect the harsh reality on the ground. It is patently unscrupulous to gloss over an act of inhumanity perpetrated on helpless, frightened souls. Holding workers in thrall is not the mark of an enlightened management but the signature of a heartless company. A caring boss would go down to the site to right the wrongs. A callous boss would let suffering and death come to the doorsteps of the workers. When an employer turns workers into slaves, he is breaking the law and must be punished. But for the estate workers in Hulu Selangor, it is unlikely their situation will be eased. Their only solution is to move out of their hovels and seek a decent livelihood in some other place.
We live in the 21st century. It promises hope of a better life. Advances made in all fields of human endeavour should serve the common good. No one needs be poor anymore. No one needs to suffer for want of care. No one needs to work in bondage. All should enjoy the fruits of modern life. Sadly, the outlook is grim. The Hulu Selangor estate is a microcosm of the bad things that still afflict society: low wages, inadequate basic amenities, insufficient medical care. The “robber barons” grow richer while the workers sink ever deeper into hardship. The business-politics nexus exists to exploit, and not uplift, the working class. It is a crying shame that even in this century, social ills are still very much in evidence. It is a crying shame that lies are routinely used to fish for votes at the expense of the workers' well-being. Politicians and businessmen are always in cahoots to enrich themselves with nary a thought given to the men and women who sweated and toiled to make the world a better place to live – for the elite class.
For their courage to stand up against threats, the Hulu Selangor estate workers deserve to get help and protection. They may lose their rice bowl and their place taken over by foreign workers willing to slog slavishly for a pittance. Cheap foreign labour is plentiful in supply but the plight of the foreigners will be far worse for they will have no rights at all. They become mere chattels forever indebted to their hardhearted taskmasters. All workers deserve a fair place under the Malaysian sun because all are living in the 21st century, where children need not go hungry, houses need not fall apart, workers need not have to “drag 50kg bags of fertiliser up a steep hill”, and a tycoon need not have to “purchase his happiness by a working man's misery”.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/06/07/of-human-bondage/
How is it possible that the plight of the estate workers had gone unnoticed these many decades? Surely, the management knows the state of affairs in its own backyard. Surely the MIC, which claims to represent the interest of the Indian community, knows the true situation. Unfortunately, they have all turned a blind eye while the exploitation continued unabated. For the magnate, it is the insatiable greed for money that has blinded his vision and blunted his conscience. For the political party, it is its murky politics that has shut out its mind from the reality on the ground. Money and politics are the twin evils that have always worked to the disadvantage of the common people. Their combined power has made slaves out of people and servants out of nations. The man with money can oil the political machine and get favours in return while the man with power can make business happen. The estate workers are mere pawns in the game of politics and business. They have no say in making a living.
Still, plantation companies must be governed by moral laws. They cannot remain silent while their workers live on meagre salary and in unhygienic surroundings. It is unethical of bosses to live in the lap of luxury while their workers languish in poverty. It is morally wrong to pull the wool over people's eyes by presenting slide shows of the good things the management has done but which do not reflect the harsh reality on the ground. It is patently unscrupulous to gloss over an act of inhumanity perpetrated on helpless, frightened souls. Holding workers in thrall is not the mark of an enlightened management but the signature of a heartless company. A caring boss would go down to the site to right the wrongs. A callous boss would let suffering and death come to the doorsteps of the workers. When an employer turns workers into slaves, he is breaking the law and must be punished. But for the estate workers in Hulu Selangor, it is unlikely their situation will be eased. Their only solution is to move out of their hovels and seek a decent livelihood in some other place.
We live in the 21st century. It promises hope of a better life. Advances made in all fields of human endeavour should serve the common good. No one needs be poor anymore. No one needs to suffer for want of care. No one needs to work in bondage. All should enjoy the fruits of modern life. Sadly, the outlook is grim. The Hulu Selangor estate is a microcosm of the bad things that still afflict society: low wages, inadequate basic amenities, insufficient medical care. The “robber barons” grow richer while the workers sink ever deeper into hardship. The business-politics nexus exists to exploit, and not uplift, the working class. It is a crying shame that even in this century, social ills are still very much in evidence. It is a crying shame that lies are routinely used to fish for votes at the expense of the workers' well-being. Politicians and businessmen are always in cahoots to enrich themselves with nary a thought given to the men and women who sweated and toiled to make the world a better place to live – for the elite class.
For their courage to stand up against threats, the Hulu Selangor estate workers deserve to get help and protection. They may lose their rice bowl and their place taken over by foreign workers willing to slog slavishly for a pittance. Cheap foreign labour is plentiful in supply but the plight of the foreigners will be far worse for they will have no rights at all. They become mere chattels forever indebted to their hardhearted taskmasters. All workers deserve a fair place under the Malaysian sun because all are living in the 21st century, where children need not go hungry, houses need not fall apart, workers need not have to “drag 50kg bags of fertiliser up a steep hill”, and a tycoon need not have to “purchase his happiness by a working man's misery”.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/06/07/of-human-bondage/
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