Father-of-five struggling to cope as rubber price drops

A RUBBER tapper in Pendang, Kedah, had no choice but to pinch pennies for three of his school-going children due to the drop of commodity prices, reports Utusan Malaysia.

Asni Wahab, 46, said he had to take such measures as the price of rubber is only RM2.30 a kilo. Asni has a total of five children.

“My kids are still schooling, they are in Form Two, Form One and kindergarten. I can only give them RM3 each a day compared to RM5 before this.

“After their bus fare of RM1.40, they only have RM1.60 each to spend in school. I don’t know how they are coping because the prices of food is getting more expensive but I am thankful because they hardly complain,” said Asni.

Apart from his three children, Asni and his wife Norasmawati Md Radzi, 37, also have one child who just completed Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and the youngest is only a year old.

Asni said the low price of rubber has forced him to look for other ways to support his family. During the rainy season, he does odd jobs to provide income for his family.

He also hoped that the government would help to stabilise the commodity prices and come up with measures to help rubber tappers like him.

> Pekan, the pedigree cat that belongs to actress Rita Rudaini has been returned safely to her, Berita Harian reported.

The British Shorthair was returned to Rita, 42, at the Semenyih police station.

“I just returned from the Semenyih police station at 2.50am (Thursday). Thank you to Sergeant Rahmat and the other police officers who managed to rescue Pekan.

“I was so happy when I was informed of this news. Pekan looked tired and thin,” she said

Rita also expressed her gratitude to the individual who provided information about Pekan.