The rising cost of staying alive

IT seems to me that the hot topic of conversation these days that I so often overhear at coffeeshops during breakfast time, gatherings during the day and folks at leisure after working hours seem to be the rising cost of living.

There are obviously lots of grumbling, much negativity, sighs of despair and a certain degree of desperation, especially among those whose working lives are over and whom I would call ‘active seniors’ and ‘deserving veterans’. They are whom a recent news item had said belonged to the 14 per cent of the population over 60 years of age.

We are very fortunate in so many ways that we here have been living in a very typical Asian family tradition, where familial ties are tightly knit, cohesive and very self-supporting in ways not familiar in many Western societies.

I cannot remember any period of time after the end of the Japanese War (1941-1945) that there had been any incidence of homelessness, extreme poverty, famine or societal turmoil of any nature – racial, religious or political.

Back in 1987 when I was driving around with a Hollywood film producer Elliot Schick scouting for locations for the movie ‘Farewell to the King’, he made a remark that I had never even thought about previously: “I don’t see any homeless people in Kuching during my entire time here so far. Where are they?”

It struck me as true – there were indeed no ‘homeless’ people per se to be seen anywhere in Kuching.

Indeed there were at that time a handful of beggars who were wandering the streets and shops’ five-footways and into coffeeshops seeking alms, and some scrubby looking ‘down on their luck’ vagrants as well, but there were neither homeless colonies nor starving citizens on the streets.

Many of those poorly looking folks would have places to go back to at night, be they family outhouses, charitable homes or various retreats run by religious organisations.

They would be fed and sheltered. Should they fall sick, they would be treated at the various free government clinics and hospitals. Should they die, they would be given proper burials at their respective cemeteries.

Ours has always been a caring and benevolent society, with a government that looks after its downtrodden and less-fortunate groups.

I know there are many shortcomings and certain inequalities in place due to factors of economic, racial and religious bias, but the last time I looked, there was yet any country named ‘Utopia’ either.

We should certainly be grateful for what we have today – peace and tolerance, freedom from hunger and enmity, freedom of choice and worship and a universal freedom to go about enjoying our personal rights.

Living in a capitalistic society, we can travel anywhere we want, behave, dress and entertain ourselves within the legal limits, eat and drink and partake in any ceremonies, festivals, games, sports, exercise and events of all acceptable activities.

We can use our wealth to do whatever we want with it – from conspicuous consumption to donating to our preferred organisations, to save or invest, to hoard or to be spendthrift – the list is endless.

Having said all that, we now come to the bad news and the ‘Doomsday’ scenario.

We are all used to comparing the costs and prices of goods and services from a certain period of time before and the present day, we would start by saying something like this: “I remember that with a RM10 note, I could have a full breakfast for two in the coffeeshop – be it two bowls of ‘kolo mee’ or ‘laksa’, and two cups of tea or coffee – and have a few cents change back.”

Well, that was true even as recently as prior to the era of the coronavirus of March 2020.

Just a couple of years before that, two bowls of ‘kolo mee’ at RM3.50 per bowl, two cups of black coffee at RM1.20 would total a grand RM9.40, and there would be 60 sen change back.

Today, the average total charge in any coffeeshop in town would be RM13.60.

That is a hefty 45 per cent increase in just five years!

If you use the same incremental percentage across the board, you would most likely discover that nowadays, it is a luxury to eat out at all.

The savings, if you buy your own raw ingredients and cook at home, would always be there, but the differential has narrowed, with supermarket and wet market prices all having risen rather substantially.

This does not just affect the upper end of the products that we love – say dairy like milk, cheese and butter, and other imported goods be they meats, vegetables and seafood – fresh or frozen, but even to really basic local vegetables as well.

I was really taken aback when a friend bought three medium-sized bundles of our beloved ‘midin’ (wild ferns) at a local market and they had cost him RM10 per bundle!

Just three years back, they were between RM3 and RM5 per bundle.

Even cooked at home, this dish would total RM30, which up till recently could pay for a good-sized plate of either ginger chicken or a medium deep-fried black pomfret at any local restaurant.

From food, let us take a look at two other necessities of life: children’s education, and healthcare.

Unlike compulsory education from ages 7 till 19, when national and public schools offer free education (with some terms and conditions attached), the cost of sending your child to preschool as well as to higher studies (colleges and universities) have risen dramatically in recent years.

I did some research and was able to extract current annual fees generally charged in Kuching for those attending preschool to university level, which are as follows:

• Private preschool, average age 4 – RM6,000 per year for four terms;
• Private primary school, average age 10 – RM6,700 per year for four terms;
• University (Foundation – Business, Design, Science / Engineering, etc) – RM20,400;
• Diploma – RM39,420 to RM54,480;
• Bachelor’s Degree (Computer Science to Engineering) – RM29,120 to RM38,000.

It is getting more and more costly to educate a child in the 2020s!

Then there is healthcare when all of us need medical intervention of one sort or another, be it accidental or due to infection or bad eating habits, or lack of proper care and exercise.

Although, in theory, all healthcare throughout the state is free for all Sarawak citizens, there is bound to be the exceptional case when one opts for either private or overseas health services. Both these are currently only available to those in the realms of the wealthy, or those who are prepared to spend their life’s savings or take out loans or sell properties to pursue such private treatment.

I have a recent case told to me by a friend who knew that I had my triple bypass CABG procedure eight years ago at the Sarawak Heart Centre, which was successfully carried out by Dr Jong Yuan Hsun, a top surgeon there.

In 2016, I had opted for the then-new plan, which was an ‘optional paying plan’ and the fee was RM25,000. Last month, this friend of mine told me that the current waiting list even for the OPP was around four months, and the current rate is RM36,000.

It may sound a lot of money, but not when you compare it to what the private hospitals would be charging, around a ballpark figure of RM100,000 to RM120,000 for the same procedure.

Overall, we can consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate and well looked after insofar as our public healthcare is concerned. After all, why otherwise would 15,000 ‘medical visitors’ per month visit our many private hospitals here from our nearest neighbour across the border if what we have on offer is not world class and the best that there is?

While seeking advice on my pre and post-operative procedures and enquiring about my current state of health, this friend of mine agreed with me that it was getting more and more expensive just to stay alive.

Do take care of yourself, practice moderation in your intake of food and get sufficient exercise, steer clear of the obvious bad habits of smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol and taking too many pharmaceuticals.

Most of all, do not stress yourself, pray frequently and keep active physically and mentally.

May the Good Lord keep watch and look after us all, and keep us all healthy, happy and content.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.