00:00Every Thursday, hundreds of elderly citizens queue patiently on Jalan Sayor in Kuala Lumpur
00:11for a meal that would hopefully keep their bellies full for the day.
00:17Among them is Helen, 68, who has come to receive food provided by Food For You, an NGO that
00:23has fed the poor and homeless every week for the last two years.
00:28My elder brother, three years ago, passed away, so I got one brother from Malacca.
00:34He don't invite me to go home, so I didn't go home for three, four years.
00:40I stay in KL, so sometimes we go here and there, people, NGO, give food, meet friends,
00:47because I'm not working, so that's how we survive.
00:52James, 56, says he would rather be independent than trouble his children.
00:58My children have grown up, they take care of their own problems, they don't look after
01:05their father.
01:06They don't look after their father, they don't look after you?
01:10They don't look after me, so what can I do?
01:13I can't beg them.
01:21These are not isolated cases.
01:23Officers lining up for a plastic bag of food, snacks and fruits include Lee, 73, who lost
01:28his wife several years ago and says his children no longer look after him.
01:33Meanwhile, Chong, 80, claims her children do not give her enough food.
01:50Tony Lian, the founder of Food For You, who started feeding abandoned senior citizens
01:54in 2015, said the homeless situation is heartbreaking to see and the result of a generational shift
02:01where money is prioritised over family.
02:06I have lost count of the number of old people that I've sent to shelter home, and it breaks
02:13my heart.
02:16It simply breaks my heart simply because I was brought up from a family who were taught
02:23to respect their elders.
02:26I respected my parents, I looked after them, I cared for them.
02:31My children now have seen what I've done, they are following me, they are now caring
02:38for me.
02:39That should be the way humanity should be, love and care for one another.
02:47The statistics department previously said Malaysia is expected to reach aged nation
02:51status sooner than expected, with over 17% of the population expected to be aged 60 or
02:58older in 2014.
03:01Malaysia is projected to become a super-aged society by 2057, with 20.5% of its population
03:08projected to be over the age of 60.
03:12Pan Yujo, FMT.
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