Perlis Mufti chides lazy attitude of the poor

Perlis Mufti Associate Prof Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin chided the behaviour of some poor in the state who were lazy and refused to work to change their lifestyle.

He said he often participated in the Raja Muda Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail's bicycle-riding programme, visiting the poor in villages to hand over contributions and to witness their living conditions with his own eyes.

"When the Raja Muda entourage arrived at their homes, I found some of the individuals were still wearing blankets while the rest of the population were already out working to earn a living," said Mohd Asri in his weekly lecture at the Alwi Mosque here last night.

Mohd Asri said during the visit, a majority of the poor were complaining of having no money to buy daily necessities including rice.

"What I regret is that among those who received contributions from the Raja Muda, some of them have a cigarette pack in their pockets. If they can buy a pack of cigarette at RM15 or RM17 each but unable to buy a small bag of rice for only RM13, they should not be categorised as poor," said Mohd Asri hoping that the poor in Perlis would soon change their attitude and work hard to elevate their family's living standard by doing whatever work they can.

- BERNAMA