When a father is forced to borrow RM120 to enable him and his wife to watch their daughter being celebrated for her exceptional Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia results, it suggests we, as a nation, have not done enough to eradicate poverty, an old national goal that seems as elusive as ever.
This is the sad family tale of Jaliusih Madakol, his wife and top-scoring daughter Arnie from Sinansag Kiulu in Tamparuli, Sabah. But this isn't a one family sad story.
Such troubling tales are replicated in various permutations beyond Tamparuli. We can quibble, as we often do, about hardcore and absolute poverty all we want, but the fact remains that poverty is still with us after almost 66 years of independence.
Yes, still poor after all these years. We use the phrase "as a nation" deliberately. The duty of the nation does not just begin in Putrajaya, though it starts there.
Inaction, or even slow action, there or in state capitals sends ripples deep into the country.
Poverty is, like a disease, contagious. It is for this reason why others must step in where the government has overlooked.
In the case of Jaliusih, the government has certainly overlooked his plight. How could a family survive on RM200 to RM300 per month, which is what Jaliusih is earning as a rubber tapper?
If we take either end of Jaliusih's income, it falls way below the hardcore poverty line of RM1,169, a number acknowledged by the Economy Ministry. Call it a Sinansag Kiulu sag that should fall squarely on the shoulders of the local assemblyman.
Granted, the state lawmaker can't shoulder all the government's responsibilities by himself. No lawmaker can. But assemblymen are the eyes and ears of the government in the broadest sense of the phrase.
The Jaliusihs of Malaysia may not go to the lawmakers with their problems, but the latter must journey to them. Otherwise, problems like poverty will remain a target to be eradicated in every Malaysia plan.
But there is another responsibility we often forget: the one owed by one human to another. Yes, "owed". Again, we use this word consciously.
Except for atheists, all God-fearing people, whom most Malaysians seemingly are, will acknowledge this. Such compassionate souls, if they truly are one, will not allow their neighbours to go to bed hungry.
Jaliusih's neighbours in Sinansag Kiulu have done well by lending him the money needed for the taxi ride to Kota Kinabalu to witness Arnie receive her CGPA 4.0 STPM certificate. But Jaliusih's neighbours are in a similar boat.
They can, at the most, give Jaliusih a "fish", so to speak. They cannot make him a "fisherman", to continue the metaphor of the old adage.
Here the wider community must step in to make not only Jaliusih, but all Jaliusihs of Malaysia, a "fisherman". Or at least, help the government help those who are classified as being poor.
This year, 18 Malaysians have made it to the Forbes billionaire list, but these are of the US dollar-denominated moneyed class.
There are many more ringgit billionaires here. All can help. Where the neighbours are unable or unwilling, the wider community must step in. And thus will the concentric circles of compassion spread, from one human need to another human need. Only then we can truly say no one has been left behind.