(Seated from left) Norhayati, Nee, Fatimah, and Nee’s second daughter in conversation.
SIBU: A father’s love is never-ending. It is not a choice but a necessity in the case of Nee Mung Siong, who, at the age of 82 is still taking care of his two grown up daughters and a son at their rented flat in Sg Merah.
The daughters are suffering from muscular dystrophy (MD) while the son has been disabled by diabetes. His determination for his children has become a source of strength for one of her daughters.
She said: “For him, I learned not to give in to self-pity; I learned to accept the fact, and be strong for him and for myself.” The younger daughter, who spoke to The Borneo Post on condition of anonymity, described Mung Siong as a great father.
“I have only seen him crying twice. The first time when my mother passed away about 18 years ago, and the second time when he thought of my mother,” she pointed out. According to Nee, he has six children and four were diagnosed with MD, but they were not as serious as his second daughter who was diagnosed with the disease about 20 years ago.
According to the second daughter, she was working in Bintulu at the age of 30 when she felt something wrong with her movements. Since then, her muscles got weaker by the day.
“It affected my work, I had no choice but to come back to Sibu to start a tuition class in my house to earn a living,” she recalled. Her father, who has always wanted the best for his children, began to look for answers, but in vain.
“I went to consult many people, but no one knew what was happening, until one day, a doctor, whom I consulted, gave us the diagnosis,” he said. MD is a chronic disease that causes progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass.
“I tried every way and means to find a cure. I even sent a copy of my daughter’s diagnosis report to my relatives in the United States. Even doctors in America said that there was no cure,” he lamented.
After hearing the bad news, he gave up the search and focused on taking care of the children. The health of his daughters, especially her second daughter, has been getting worse. As it is now, the second daughter is no longer able to walk. She has stopped working – her tuition class of a handful students has been taken over by her sister. Their father then hired an Indonesian maid to help take care of his children.
Samsiyah, 45, who has been working with the Nee family for about three months, said besides household chores she helps the children to the bathroom and toilet.
“I start work from 4.30am till about 8.30pm. It’s quite tedious, but I find solace in the bond of love that exists in this family,” she said.
The Welfare Department is helping. Nee is getting the monthly senior citizen assistance of RM300 while his second daughter is getting RM200. Socso has also chipped in. Nee’s other daughter is getting RM350 every month under ‘Working Disable Scheme’ while Nee’s son gets RM800 a month.
His story came to light when Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah visited the family yesterday morning. While there, she mentioned a team of volunteers whom the family may approach for assistance.
“We’ve a list of about 57,000 people who need help. We know that there are still many out there who need our help but don’t know how to get help. That is why we really need corporate bodies and NGOs to assist us in this,” she said.
Later, Fatimah told reporters that the government had always encouraged corporate social responsibility (CSR) and volunteerism in reaching out to the poor.
“I understand that the current assistance is really not enough. This is true, so we need corporate bodies and NGOs to add on to what the government is giving,” she pointed out. Sibu Welfare Department assistant director Norhayati Abdul Rahman accompanied the minister on her visit.