I received an appeal yesterday for funds for a friend who needs chemotherapy. The total bill comes to about RM30,000 for six sessions of chemo.
When I visited the Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department of the Internal Security Ministry in Putrajaya, I counted approximately 30 staff employed to censor reading materials. I don't know how many more are employed in departments elsewhere across the country, or the numbers employed in broadcast, film and audio censorship.
How much are we prepared to pay to help sustain life in Malaysia? I wonder what the comparative costs of maintaining the death penalty, of maintaining censorship, of employing people to spy and monitor the behaviour of fellow Malaysians engaged in political action is, in comparison to the amount spent on our public health services.
We are rich enough to give away land in Johor for the construction of amusement parks, but not rich enough to adequately fund our health service. Perhaps we should restructure our priorities before restructuring anything else.
3 comments:
Dear Sonia,
Wow. Never knew they have so many staff working on this "Al-Quran Texts Control Department" plus the others of Internal Security Ministry. BTW any luck with getting some coins from them? Mind if I steal some info from this post for my blog?
Not here to comment on what Sonia had been doing in Wonderland, but just to say thanks for leaving a comment in post Environmentally friendly birthday present for Sonia Ranhhawa and that there is a response to your comment.
RELUCTANT "PROTEST" BLOGGER
Enviroman's Adventure in Funderland
Digital Candlelight Vigil
(not my main blogs)
BTW hopefully soon you may see a video of Gayathry "standing horizontal" giving a report on the media monitoring in Enviroman's Adventure in Funderland as soon as I learn from Canon how to upload video from digital camera to Youtube. Tough craning your neck horizontal to watch Gayathry giving report, but there is sound track and lazy visitors who don't want to read can just turn on video and listen. Gayathry says she don't mind ("standing horizontal" in the Web)
Sorry, getting coins? Please do steal info from here (if you could credit it and link to my blog, that'd be great).
Look forward to seeing strange images of Gaya!!
Take care, Sonia
Hey Sonia, I share your thoughts. I think they're overstaffed there. When I submitted for my magazine, there were 5 receptionists at the same table. Who the heck needs 5 receptionists?!
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