'They did not want to deal with me'

More Malaysian families abandoning their elderly

- Zunaira Saieed

A 70-year-old stroke patient has not seen or heard from his family for nearly five months since he was admitted to the Lotus Ville Care Centre in Johor Bahru.

His immediate family, which includes his wife and two children, has not been footing the RM2,000 (S$576) monthly bill for his care at the nursing home for three months, after paying for one month upfront in March when he was admitted.

"It was part of a plan by my wife and children to put me in an old folks' home because they did not want to deal with me themselves," claimed the man who wanted to be known only as Mr Kumar, citing privacy reasons.

The Malaysian, who used to work as a bus driver, believes they can no longer bear the burden of caring for him. After a stroke five years ago, he became dependent on his family to feed him and take him to the bathroom.

Mr Kumar's attempts to call his family have been in vain as they have changed their phone numbers, and he can't come to terms with how they have abandoned him. Despite it all, he still harbours hope of reconciling with them.

"I hope one day I can meet my wife and children again to ask them why they left me like this when I became dependent on them," he told The Straits Times.

Anecdotally, predicaments like Mr Kumar's are becoming more common in Malaysia, with industry players also seeing an increase in cases of the elderly being abandoned at their premises.

The ageing population in Malaysia stood at 7.4 per cent of its 33.7 million population, or about 2.5 million people aged 65 and above, in 2023. The figure is expected to rise to 4.5 million by 2030.

The Association for Residential Aged Care Operators of Malaysia (Agecope) defines cases of elderly abandonment as instances where families fail to visit their elderly relatives and stop paying the monthly fees for their care.