Elderly woman needs help to stay in rented home

KLANG: Life for 89-year-old Muniammah Rajalingam has never been easy.

Married at 16 and widowed at 31, the mother of three raised her sons alone, doing odd jobs that came her way.

She also raised her two grandsons after her eldest son and his wife died in a road accident 40 years ago. In spite of her sacrifices, Muniammah is now living alone as she has lost contact with both her surviving sons and two grandsons.

The octogenarian, who lives in a rented apartment in Desa Mentari, Petaling Jaya, said her eldest grandson K. Kesavan Mugunthan went out to look for a job two years ago.

“He went out in the morning and never came back, ’’ said Muniammah, who is healthy except for slight difficulty in hearing.

As for her second grandson K. Jeevan Manogaran, Muniammah said he lost his job after the MCO was imposed last March and became violent after that.

She added he was picked up by the police in the middle of last year.

She believes he is being treated at a psychiatric hospital but is unsure of his whereabouts.

“He took good care of me before this. He also paid the monthly rent and other expenses, ” she said, adding that she stopped working when she turned 70.

Muniammah has not paid her rent of RM650 for the past nine months.

A neighbour, K. Jeyamani, who has been providing her with food and groceries, said Muniammah’s landlord couldn’t allow her to stay rent-free anymore.

“But, she does not want to move anywhere or go to an old folks home in case both her grandsons come back, ’’ said Jeyamani.

Non-governmental organisation Community Development and Integration Initiative director Firoza Burhan hoped corporate donors will help sponsor Muniammah’s rent for at least a year, as well as settle the arrears.

Those who want to help Muniammah can email [e-mail].