Produced by Indrani Kopal | Narration by Nick Josh Karean | <br /> <br />The real victims of the financial crisis are the families <br /> <br />Thirty-five year old factory worker S Muniandy is a husband and a father of six-children. He takes home every month RM400 plus after deduction. <br /> <br />His wife M Kalairani, age 33 is a housewife. <br /> <br />They've been living in Sri Perantau Flats in Port Klang ever since they were evicted from Rumah Panjang Sungai Rengam in 2004 under the previous Selangor state government's 'zero-setingan' programme. <br /> <br />According to Muniandy, he hasn't been paying for the house for the past one year. The monthly payment for the flat is RM400. <br /> <br />If he pays for this from his monthly salary, he will never able to feed his children for the entire month. <br /> <br />Can a family of eight survive on a monthly income of RM400, given the cost of living in Malaysia today? Muniandy is living below the poverty line. <br /> <br />Muniandy is a typical story of many who have been retrenched by factories due to the economic downturn. <br /> <br />Many residents who Malaysiakini interviewed during our recent visit there, had similar stories to share. <br /> <br />It has been claimed that factories in Klang and Shah Alam have been retrenching local workers so that they can be replaced with foreigners for half of the salary. <br /> <br />This has affected many families who live and work in Klang and Shah Alam.
