Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights says:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Article 25 of the Declaration of Human Rights
Let us examine if the issue of poverty violates the basic human rights by looking at each right one by one.
The right to food
3 out of 10 Malaysians feel that they do not have enough money to buy food.
The right to clothing
The number two reason why children drop out of school in Malaysia is because their parents cannot afford school-related expenses; the bulk of it are school uniforms.
The right to housing
There are approximately 2,000 homeless people living on the streets of Malaysia (inclusive of those in the smaller towns and outskirts). These numbers fluctuate daily as the homeless are known to move around.
The right to medical care
The average time to reach a hospital for rural residents was 43 minutes compared to 28 minutes for urban residents. 6.5% of Malaysia’s population were more than 5km away from any healthcare facility, with no mobile alternatives that they could turn to.
The right to social security
70% of KWSP active members aged 54 have less than RM50,000
We would like to give a shoutout to all the changemakers who work tirelessly to eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere!
