# 4th entry : ‘ Nik Aziz and Hadi’s lack of empathy’

Based on the newspaper excerpt, Nik Aziz and Hadi’s lack of empathy stated that these Pas leaders have hurt many BR1M recipients with their harsh statement.  Datuk  Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said that “ Kalau nak jadi ikan, jadilah ikan yang bijak yang makan umpan… Jangan jadi ikan bodoh yang makan kail ( If you want to be a fish, be a smart one by getting away with the bait… do not be a stupid fish by being hooked ).” The statement by him indirectly labeled the BR1M recipient as stupid. As well as Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat statement had been drawing criticism from the people for likening BR1M recipients to farm animals; chickens and cows being fed desiccated coconut and hay respectively.

I am in complete agreement with the writer of this article where Nik Aziz and Hadi’s lack of empathy by likening the recipients of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) as animals, as insulting the people who require assistance. The Government has announced to give out BR1M, a one-off cash payment of RM500 to households with an income of less than RM3,000 a month. According to the Prime Minister Dato Seri Njib Tun Razak in News Strait Times said that, BR1M assistance is one of the various initiatives undertaken by the Barisan Nasional government to alleviate the burden of low-income earners in facing the rising cost of living. People who are eligible for accepting the BR1M are individuals who are married including married children living with parents; single mothers or fathers with dependents; single individuals (bachelor, divorcee, single mother) with dependents; and senior citizens without commodity. The aid formed a group identified by the government who truly needed the assistance and the BR1M could change the lives of the recipients for a more comfortable future.

            Hadi and Nik Aziz not supposed to be judgmental against the BR1M recipients. In whatever situation, as leaders they must show a good example to the people. They should not give an insensitive statement that can hurt the feelings and dignity of the poor and underprivileged especially all BR1M recipients. The International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad, said that although there had been attempts by PAS publicists via various media to clarify and explain the remarks made by Nik Aziz, the fact still stood that an analogy equating people to animals should not have been used. There are other analogies that could be used to extend one's opinions or discontent.

In addition, Asri Salleh, the political analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara ( UiTM ) also supported that Hadi should not labeled the BR1M recipients as stupid like animals because the aid has similar traits as zakat (tithe). “Those who receive the aid are those who have a poor household income, no more than RM 3,000. The policy is good, why it's stupid? What’s the difference between BR1M and zakat ? Zakat is also disbursed in the form of money. Are zakat recipients stupid too?” Asri asked when contacted by Malaysian Digest. He said, the manifesto possessed a similar concept introduced by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government through programs to help the poor deal with their daily lives. Asri also added that BR1M was a ‘genius’ program as the people could receive aid without having to go through much red tape and bureaucracy. It is regrettable if BR1M recipients were labeled animals or stupid, especially when uttered by those who are considered experts in religion.