3rd Entry: Education can defeat inequalities..

What is inequality? Many people have different perceptions about it but still leading to same definition which is equal rights for all human beings in terms of opportunities where is no one left behind. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, inequality means the unfair situation in society when some people have more opportunities, money and etc. than other people. The 10^th Sustainable Development Goal is to reduced inequalities within and between countries which are based on gender, income, disabilities, sexual orientation, class, race, ethnicity, religion and opportunity.  Inequality is global fundamental issue where is not only happen in Malaysia, but all over the world. Therefore, a lot of discussions and speeches have been delivered to spread the awareness among community about inequalities that happen nowadays. Not forget to mention that, inequalities also indicate that discriminations and racism actually happen in our society. Well to be precise, it is happening in worldwide society. Some countries are facing gender inequality, religion inequality, race inequality and many more. While Malaysia itself also facing inequality problem which is income inequality. Since Malaysia is multi-racial country which consist of three main races like Malays, Chinese, and Indians. There is a huge gap in terms of income between these ethnics where Chinese is the one who mostly monopolizing the wealth in market-economics while most of Malays have low average income compared to Chinese and Indians according to some analysis that have be done around 2002 until 2014, even though we all knew that Malay is the son of the land. In United States of America(USA), the biggest inequalities issues that happen there are inequalities in terms of race and religion. “Black Lives Matter” also racism and discrimination over Muslims are inequalities issues that happen in USA recently. As I can see that, a lot people suffered because of inequality that happen from each corner of the world. Hence, in conjunction with the trademark “towards better future”, sustainable development truly crucial in order to create opportunity for everyone can have better life. Therefore, by solving inequality issues, peace can be attained and everyone can be treated fair and square.

Even in Islam, especially in Maqasid Al-Shariah is prioritizing each of human life is matter and should be given opportunity to life properly without disadvantaging their human rights. Besides, concept of Maqasid Al-Shariah is compatible with 5ps’ concept in Sustainable Development which peace can be achieved through life. Which means, Islam is a religion that focus to bring peaceful life to everyone without being threatened by terrorism, violation of humans right and that includes inequality as well. Because everybody has right to have a good life and shouldn’t left behind.

Based on my experience, I have read about income inequality that happen in Malaysia in term of gender and race which I have mentioned before. So the government has provided and encourage society to pursue themselves in higher education in their life to compete within the job market especially for Malays and Bumiputera such as Sabah and Sarawak to overcome the income inequalities at the same time closing the wage’s gap that lead to inequality between ethnics.

So far as I concern, one of my friend had already entered world of job and share one of his story when he was working at one KFC branch in Kota Kinabalu. Since he only had SPM as his education background, so he started to work there as an ordinary staff. Usually, as a newcomer he would do works like customer services such as cleaning, delivering order to customer table and so on in his training even after he work there as official staff. In spite of that, one of newcomers also working there and have a degree as his education background and was offered to become general manager and of course he still has to do same works as ordinary staff as part of his training. But, what makes it different is his position will be general manager when his training afterwards.

Based on his story, what I want to highlight is the importance to have a good educations background. Because it can change people and their perceptions about coming from different ethnics does not determine your complexity and capability either in work and your life. If everyone has a good education and manage to perform well in works, so why would inequalities happen? As a result, nobody should suffer from income inequality because they have proven through their work performance that even you are Malays or Chinese or Indians, your ethnicity should not become a limits for yourself to be successful. It was kind of relatable with quote from famous anime series named Black Clover that created by Yuki Tabata which is “it doesn’t matter if you are peasant or an orphan! Everyone can shine.”

 Thus, government is fully aware about inequalities that happens in our society especially when it comes to ethnicity background. So, by providing the access to higher education for society, income or wage inequality can be reduced unconsciously by society itself by slowly changing their mindset through proper education.

In conclusion, I can simplify that reducing inequality is not as simple as a piece of cake. It will take time because inequality has already embedded as an old norm and mindset in our society unconsciously. In order to put an end to inequality, it is our responsible to spread the awareness about inequalities issues that happen in our community and as together we overcome it through realization of Sustainable Development Goals towards building a better future for our own generation and the next generation. In shaa Allah….

2nd Entry: a(food waste)^2 + poverty - hunger = 0

 

As we know that Sustainable Development Goals are efforts that established by United Nation towards better future. That include reducing poverty and hunger as well as one of the biggest global issues nowadays. Poverty and hunger is leading to a disease known as malnutrition. According to Cambridge Dictionary, malnutrition means physical weakness and bad health caused by having too little food, or too little of the types of food necessary for good health. In facts, malnutrition divided by three types which are undernutrition, micronutrient-related malnutrition and obesity. Can you imagine that how sad to see people who are facing poverty and hunger and don’t have any food to feed their children and those kids end up having malnutrition? World Health Organization stated that “malnutrition is a global problem where millions of people are suffering from different form of malnutrition. Around one in ten children are born with low birth weight and in South Asia, it is one in four and approximately 45% of deaths among children under five are linked to undernutrition.” Not forget to mention, those people facing poverty and hunger caused by effects of wars that happen in their country, economics crisis and many more. Although we are living in modern world where technologies have great influence in industries and our life, but still there is so many people who are even cannot fulfill their basic needs as a human like food, clean and drinkable water also house where they could live in peaceful and sleeping safe and sound without worrying about cold and heat. Therefore, we are here living in comfortable place, wasting food and water while their struggling half of death to have those things that we have been wasted. Which means we are not living in sustainable way because there are a lot of people still struggling in order to keep alive as they live in poverty and hunger. In conjunction with pandemic Covid-19, the problem getting even worsen.

Before I knew about Sustainable Development Goals, I don’t really pay attention to what is actually happen surrounding me especially when it comes to global problems. On top of that, there was one time, when I scrolled down some pages on my Instagram, one of the pages named as MyFundAction. They are actually known as Non-Governmental Organization(NGO) that actively supporting and helping those who is in needed by accumulating donations and deliver it them. Some of them in form of basic food donation especially to people who had less food to survive during pandemic. They were sharing some of their videos where one of the team from MyFundAction went to Sabah to deliver food to people there. I am totally amazed their efforts to keep delivering the food though that time it was rain and the village actually build on mangrove. Besides, now they are working on giving food donation to people in Syria where the winter season will come soon. Plus, they even planning to provide better place to stay during winter season, if possible. I wish for them to keep being strong by mentally and physically in order to help as many people as they can.

Seeing their efforts really touched me and make me realized that sometimes I felt sad to see how people easily wasted food everyday while in facts, if we give or donate the money that was spent to buy those wasted foods to another people in needed, I think the Sustainable Development Goals which are no poverty and zero hunger are not something impossible to be achieved by 2030. For example, according to report done by Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), almost 1.3 billion tons of food were thrown out globally. Just imagine how much we will get if we accumulate the money that was spent on 1.3 billion tons of wasted food? Surely millions of dollars. Let see on particular country food waste such as United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture which tracks food loss, dairy products is the largest in food wasted which amount $91 billion in a year. While in the website named as reliefweb stated that estimated cost to end hunger is in range about $7 billion to $265 billion per year. Then, let say if the cost to reduce poverty and hunger will take around $91 billion which same as amount of money of wasted food for a year, I think we can reduce at least 20 to 30 percent of hunger for a year. So, in 5 years we actually can reduce around 60 percent of poverty and hunger problem roughly all over the world and that is not include the donations from people. In short, to end poverty and hunger is not impossible but it is not going to be simply like that and will take time because we also need to look other perspectives like economic crisis, society awareness and so on. Yet all of these things are interrelated and affect one another.

In conclusion, after I knew about Sustainable Development and its goals. I guess more people should know about it because we can work to better future together. There is no one else live in this world could lead to us to have future that we want other than humanity itself. Because we were given brain or Aql by Allah to think, react and fulfill our obligation to Him as servant and Khalifah as well. In Quran al-Karim, Surah Al- Isra verse 70, Allah said “ And we have honored the Children of Adam. We carried them in the land and the sea, and We have given them as sustenance of the permissible things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created…”

 

 

 

 

1st Entry: Education for all, All can get education..

Living in this world obviously we need knowledge in whatever we do. Perhaps, without knowledge we don’t really know how to do things properly. Books, researches, experiments have been made in order to help in educating people theoretically and practically. Even since ancient time to have a knowledge is pretty crucial. Not forget to mention that, humanity could make into civilization because of knowledge they obtained from discovering, observing, experimenting and of course learning. They managed to came up with various of theories and ideas and make it into knowledge. Therefore, from generation to generation of humanity, knowledge has become a must. Our ancestor did their best to pass down all kind of knowledge to us. So it would benefit us in near future. Thus, that’s why the term “education” existed. Education is not all about process of giving, teaching or passing a knowledge from one to another. Education is leading people to act, change, think, do, interpret and adapt properly and accordingly with the knowledge. A good education will produce a good quality of person. We all knew that not all people is gifted with superb intelligence which can adapt everything on their own. Everyone in this world have their pros and cons, advantages and weaknesses. So, education comes with different ways. It’s not only memorizing facts and notes, it may be through polishing skills, like soft-skills and leadership skills. Hence, authorities like Ministry of Education had to provide and implement the best education system. So, everyone has opportunity to have a proper education.  In order to realize that, numerous efforts have been made to ensure education can be provided to everyone. One of it is called as Sustainable Development Goals or in short SDG’s.

Sustainable development goals established by United Nations and it works globally. Besides, it has 17 goals that need to be achieved before or on 2030. So, one of the sustainable development goals is quality education. Quality education in SDG’s means to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. For instance, schools, universities and other education institutions have been built which offers education in multiple educational programs that suits community preferences at the same time fulfilling the needs of work market. So, graduated students can possibly get a job based on courses they have taken under study. Unfortunately, we can’t deny that to ensure best quality of education actually cost a lot. Not everyone has opportunities to enter schools or universities because of they are not financially good enough to afford high education.

When I was a high school student, I don’t have any idea how actually education system works because since my childhood days, I have been told by my parents to go to school and focus on my study. Though, sometimes I found it stressful but Alhamdulillah I managed to enter university as a students. So, during high school all I think is striving for excellency in academic and of course enjoy my school days with my friends. One day, I moved to new high school to pursue my passion in Arabic language since my old school didn’t offer Arabic language. Plus, my new school where I have to live in hostel as long I enroll in that school. One of my friend is from Tawau. It is quite far from our school. She had to take a bus whenever we allowed to return home. There is a time when she got homesick and I tried to make up her mood by asking her what happen. She told me that she was scared if she couldn’t survive in study in our school. Because if she couldn’t manage to get a good result it would be a waste of money which her parents already spent on her to continue her study in our school. Besides, her family financial was not very good that time. Her mother was kuih seller whereas her father already retired. When she came to that school, she said that most of the fee was paid by using her father KWSP money. And yeah, she burst out of tears. It was the first time in my life to hear that kind of story directly from someone who is pretty close to me. It is kind a really hit me deep inside my heart. It’s a sad reality to see those people who are facing financial problem but still striving to have a proper education. Though, everyone has the rights to seek for knowledge but for some of them can’t make it.

As time passed by, to study in order to contribute learning opportunities to all the government and non-government organizations has offered financial support like sponsorship, scholarship, loans for students who comes from low income group family who want to continue their study in high education institution either local or international. For example, PTPTN, foundation scholarship in every state such a Yayasan Sabah, and many more. In addition, some of universities in Malaysia also offered scholarship for students who are excel in neither academics nor co-curricular. In IIUM, student from low income family will be identified and offered financial support to help them with their studies.

In conclusion, education is needed to build better future for our and next generation. Through sustainable development everyone will be able to get proper education without being left behind. So, when people have knowledge and well-educated, they will start to open their mind to change and think from different perspectives and for sure it will lead to better society, environments, and economics growth. So, sustainable developments goals are working toward better future for everyone. Yet it will take time to see the impacts but soon or later it will happen, In Shaa Allah…