All around the world, including here in Malaysia, more elderly people are quietly slipping through the cracks, left to fend for themselves as family members grow distant, unwilling, or unable to care for them. You might think it’s rare, but sadly, it's far more common than we’d like to admit.
Photo via Facebook (Chee Heng Kuan)
Thankfully, there are still kind-hearted individuals and volunteer organisations doing their best to care for these seniors, but how long can they hold the line? How much can they take before compassion alone simply isn’t enough?
This is why Malaysian humanitarian Uncle Kentang, real name Kuan Chee Heng—is using his voice to raise awareness about the plight of the elderly who are left behind.
He recently shared the story of 80-year-old Soh Swee Yong, who was allegedly abandoned at Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Despite having siblings and being from Setapak Jaya, no one had come to visit her. “She asked me where I would send her,” he wrote. “If she were a Puan Sri or Datin Seri, people would’ve come. But she’s just Swee Yong, and so no one cares.”
Swee Yong’s story is painfully familiar: seniors who once raised families, paid bills, and contributed to society now left alone in hospital wards or shelter homes, feeling forgotten.
Uncle Kentang has since helped arrange for her to be moved to a welfare home run by a local Indian NGO in Batu Caves—Pusat Jagaan Orang Tua Cahaya Maju, managed by Mr Saravanan. It may very well be where she spends the rest of her life.
He urges family members who still have a heart to come forward and see her while they can. “As our country continues aging, we’ll see more of this. Be prepared,” he warned.
22/4/25 DUMPED AND ABANDONED. She was in Hospital HKL. Soh Swee Yong is 80 years old. She told me she is from Setapak...
Posted by Chee Heng Kuan on Monday 21 April 2025
We are grateful for people like Uncle Kentang, and for homes like the one run by Mr Saravanan—but care should never fall only on volunteers and strangers. It begins at home.
So let this be a reminder: cherish your family while you still have them. One day, you might be all they have left.
