Elderly mum and her two paralysed sons to receive Welfare Dept aid

Tough times: Parvathi with Elangovan, who cannot move or talk following an accident, at their home in Seremban Jaya.

SEREMBAN: Help is on the way for an elderly woman who is single-handedly caring for her two sons, who became bedridden following separate road accidents.

K. Kumaran, 43, became paralysed from the chest down after a road accident in December 2009 while K. Elangovan, 41, has been unable to move or talk following an accident in Singapore in April last year.

Elangovan has to be fed a special formula through a tube to his stomach.

Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, who visited the brothers on Saturday, said he was saddened by their condition.

He added that he had immediately contacted state Women, Family and Welfare committee chairman Nicole Tan Lee Koon for assistance.

“I only knew that Kumaran has been bedridden for some time and had no clue about his younger brother.

“When I learnt that they were not getting government aid, I contacted Tan for help, ” Gunasekaran said.

Kumaran was working on a contractual basis for a landscape company when he met with an accident.

However, he was not eligible for Socso aid as he had not fulfilled the minimum monthly contribution requirement.

Elangovan was working as a security guard at Changi Airport when he met with an accident.

During a visit to the family home in Seremban Jaya, Tan said the brothers’ younger sister, who is married and living in Kuala Lumpur, had been providing for them and paying the RM650 house rent.“I am told that she runs a tailoring shop in Sentul, ” she said, adding that the siblings’ 70-year-old mother, N. Parvathi, also did not receive any aid from the Welfare Department.

Their 69-year-old father has been receiving RM200 in monthly assistance from the department since December 2018 and works as a barber, but is estranged from the family.

Tan said the Welfare Department would process applications for monthly cash aid as well as OKU (disabled people) cards for the brothers.

“We will also consider providing them with wheelchairs and other aid, ” she added.

Tan also handed over RM300 and household items on the department’s behalf during her visit while Gunasekaran gave the brothers diapers.