COMMENT | People who have fallen in hard times get an immediate response for help from the welfare or religious departments only after their stories are shared on the internet.

Is sharing one's suffering in public the new norm for getting immediate help for individuals, struggling families, single mothers, and the homeless?

It is unconscionable to subject them to a further loss of dignity.

Applying for aid involves a mountain of form filling, identity verification, and a minimum waiting time of three months before the recipient receives an answer. Those who are rejected are never told why they were turned down.

Last week, around Hari Raya Aidilfitri, we read about various people for whom the holiday was temporarily put on hold.

A serving soldier contracted pneumonia, was discharged from the army and ended up homeless. He served his nation, but the nation turned him down when he needed its help the most.