By Aida Aziz
IPOH: Living alone in a dilapidated shop-house building near Datok Street here, coupled with deteriorating health conditions and inability to walk.
Such is the fate of an elderly citizen, Ahmad Kusaimi Mohamed Shaharuddin, 82, who has been suffering from illness since his mid-20s, and now he is no longer able to afford rent.
The shop-house building is located near the roundabout at Medan Kidd and close to the entrance to Little India.
Looking into his situation at the shop-house, it was found that Ahmad Kusaimi was only lying in the room, and fortunately, there was a friend of his known as Zul, who came to deliver food in the morning and evening
If it weren’t for his friend, who knows what would happen to the man living alone, unable to move anywhere and needing to wear disposable diapers.
According to Ahmad Kusaimi, he used to live there with his wife, known as Siti Rohayu Abdul Rashid.
However, he claimed that a few years ago his wife’s health deteriorated and she returned to her homeland in Indonesia.
“I’ve been living here for 20 years. In my youth in 1964, I worked at the Land Office in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, without a pension because I was sick.
“Now I live alone without anyone, no children. My wife is sick and no longer recognizes anyone around her, including me; she has returned to Indonesia.
“If I want to eat, my friend delivers it. If not, I won’t have anything to eat, but he always helps as much as he can.
“The Baitulmal has provided disposable diapers for me for a year,” he said when met yesterday.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Pertubuhan Puteri Kebajikan Negeri Perak, Wan Noorashikin Noran said the case had been referred to the Perak Department of Social Welfare.
However, she said, it was understood that the Department of Social Welfare requested that the elderly citizen be taken to the hospital for treatment first.
“I found out about this uncle’s situation from an acquaintance who requested urgent assistance because he was helpless.
“It is understood that the Department of Social Welfare asked to take him to the hospital first, then they will take action. But we have no means to take him to the hospital in his condition.
“Moreover, the uncle lives on the upper floor and needs to go down the stairs. If he goes to the hospital, he needs to have heirs and so on.
“We really hope that the Department of Social Welfare can help this uncle to be sent to a welfare home and receive treatment. We can help to take him to an elderly people’s home, but it has to be through the Department of Social Welfare,” she said.
