KUALA LUMPUR: IN the last six years since Leong Siew Yoong took up residence at an old folks’ home, Persatuan Rumah Caring Kajang, Selangor, she has never celebrated Chinese New Year with family members.
“When I was still working, my siblings would invite me to go to their houses for dinner. After being hit by a car, I stopped working and stayed here. I have never been invited since then,” she said.
Leong has never married but has an adopted son, whose absence makes her heart ache even more.
“My greatest wish is to see my son again. I wish he would come to see me. I just hope that he would want to spend some time with me.
“I raised him since he was a toddler until he was 18. I have not seen him after he returned to his biological mother,” she said, as her eyes welled up.
Her only solace is a black-and-white picture of her adopted son, taken on his first birthday, which she keeps in her bag.
“When I miss him, I look at his picture. I still think about him every day.
“I have given him the best that I could. I fed him, nursed him when he was sick and made sure he got a good education. I did everything that a mother could.
“In the past, we celebrated Chinese New Year together.
“I bought him new clothes and shoes, took him for dinner and to the movies,” she said.
Leong said she had made several trips to his house to look for him, but each time, she was told that he was not home.
“Every time I went to visit, his biological mother would tell me that he was away. I would sit by the front gate waiting for him for hours, but still, I never got to see him.
“I just want to celebrate the new year with my siblings and son.
“I would be happier if I could spend some time with them, just for two or three days. I am not asking them to take me into their homes,” she said.
Leong is one of many senior citizens who are, sadly, forgotten by their own family members during festive seasons.
There are an estimated 58 private nursing homes in the country, not including 11 Rumah Ehsan and Rumah Seri Kenangan run by the government under the Welfare Department.
There are also numerous homes for the elderly run by non-governmental organisations.
By 2020, the number of the population aged 65 and above in Malaysia will reach two million people, or 7.2 per cent out of a projected population of 28.28 million.
According to the Statistics Department’s Projected Population Report (revised) 2010-2040 published last November, Malaysia’s ageing population (above 65 years old) was expected to swell from five per cent (1.4 million) in 2010 to 14.5 per cent (six million) in 2040.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim had said that the government had taken steps to prepare to face the challenges of an ageing nation, including ensuring adequate healthcare and financial resources, as well as infrastructure that is senior-citizen friendly.
Plans are also under way to revise the retirement age from 60 to 66 years old, she said, with a consultative council for senior citizens approved by the government in 2011 to monitor the implementation of the senior citizen policy and action plan.
Under the Welfare Department, Rumah Ehsan and Rumah Seri Kenangan were set up to provide safe and comfortable homes for the elderly, many of whom have nowhere to turn to.
While Rumah Ehsan provides nursing, healthcare and protection to impoverished and sickly senior citizens who receive no support from family members, Rumah Seri Kenangan was set up to provide social support for abandoned senior citizens who are able to take care of themselves.
As of October last year, there are 1,574 senior citizens at nine Rumah Seri Kenangan around the country.
They are in Bedong, Kedah; Cheng, Malacca; Cheras, Kuala Lumpur; Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan; Johor Baru, Johor; Kangar, Perlis; Seremban, Negri Sembilan; and Taiping and Tanjung Rambutan in Perak.
Meanwhile, the two Rumah Ehsan in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, and Dungun, Terengganu, each have 118 and 98 residents, respectively.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) had projected that senior citizens would need at least RM200,000 in savings to live comfortably after retirement.
However, it was reported that the savings of 78 per cent of Malaysians at the age of 54 were less than that.