Last Updated on: 17th March 2015, 10:07 am
How does that old joke go? What’s the scariest thing a person can say to you? I’m from the government and I’m here to help. And what do a lot of people who know a thing or two about jokes often say about them? Many of the best ones start out with a grain of truth. Nailed it, old saying people.
Homeless people who attended a government-run event in Malaysia were given household appliances as gifts. To make the event, organised by the Federal Territory Ministry, special for the less fortunate guests, the minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor, chose to give them presents.
But the kind gesture sent out the wrong signals when some of the homeless excitedly unwrapped their gifts only to find kitchen and electrical appliances.
To make matters worse, the operator of a local soup kitchen said that prior to the event, she had gotten a call from somebody in the ministry asking what kinds of gifts would be appropriate. We’ll skip the part where we wonder how big a bubble one must live in to require such an informational phone call and move right along to worrying about the clearly deficient listening skills of whoever’s working the phones over there.
And to put icing on the cake (or at least it would have if they had one), the minister himself, while admitting that things could have gone better and that they’ll learn from the experience for next time, also acknowledged that the event suffered from a food shortage.
Slow clap.
I make fun, but it’s nice to hear about a government wanting to do a bit of good for the less fortunate. In Florida they arrest folks and drag them through the courts for doing things like that.
