Modern-day Atlas shouldering world of grief

The Sun

25-05-2025

PETALING JAYA: Beneath the gleaming towers and on the bustling streets of Kuala Lumpur lies a harsh reality – families sleeping on cardboard, mentally ill individuals wandering around without support and elderly people abandoned by their loved ones foraging for some semblance of a meal.
For nearly a decade, Tony Lian Kam Leong, 76, fondly known as Uncle Tony, has been working relentlessly to help this vulnerable group.
Through his NGO, Food4You, he provides meals, shelter and a vital sense of dignity to those overlooked by society.
'During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government tried to move homeless women and children to shelters run by the National Welfare Foundation and Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
'But there are still homeless people on the streets,' Lian said, adding that one of the most serious issues is the absence of safe spaces for homeless families.
'There is no dedicated centre for them. If a father, mother and two children are found sleeping on the street, the authorities tell them to split up. Imagine that, being forced to choose between shelter and staying together. No family should ever face that kind of decision.'
'We rent them a small room in Chow Kit for six months. We tell them to find work and settle down. If not, we encourage them to return to their hometown.'
Many arrive in the city chasing dreams of a better life, only to find themselves stranded.
'They believe in the promise of jobs and security. But the dream shatters. No job. No savings. No help. They end up on the streets.'
Among the most heartbreaking cases are those involving mental illness.
'Some are naked. Some talk to themselves. Some just stare into space. We take them to the hospital and the doctors do what they can. But once treatment is done, their families refuse to take them back.
'They say it's too difficult... and that they are too old or unstable. And just like that, the person is back on the streets.'
Malaysia has only two major psychiatric institutions – Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak and Hospital Permai in Johor – but both require a family member to sign the admission documents.
'Even with letters from doctors, they won't admit the individual because I'm not family. We buy medication, and sometimes we even arrange for private psychiatric care.
'If they're not violent, we get them the help they need. We check in on them, making sure they're taking their medicine. And when the treatment starts working, you see something incredible. You see the person coming back to life.'
While there are plans to build a dedicated centre for mentally ill homeless individuals, Lian said it remains a distant plan. In the meantime, NGOs such as Food4You take on the burden.
Lian also spoke of a moment at a shelter for the elderly that deeply moved him.
'I saw a sea of old faces. I asked: 'Where are your children? Your families?' They said: 'They don't want us.''
His voice trembled as he recounted a conversation with an elderly man, frail and hollow-eyed, whose pleading gaze bore straight into his soul.
'Where is my son? Why am I here... begging for food?' the man had poignantly asked.
'That question has never left me. It wasn't just hunger in his voice, it was absolute heartbreak,' Lian stuttered through the lump in his throat.
'This is what people need to understand. Not everyone on the streets chose this life. Some were forced out. Some slipped through the cracks. Others were simply left behind.'
He also urged the younger generation never to forget their parents or neglect them when they are old.
'Love and care, they're not optional. They're sacred. You don't just cut a string and say: 'I don't love you anymore.' That's your parent, your sibling, your spouse. You don't walk away when they need you most.'
Lian recently helped a man who became bedridden with gout after his wife left him.
'He has two kids, 14 and 15. But because he's sick, his wife divorced him. Is that what love means now? You don't just leave someone because they fall ill.
'I may not be able to change the whole system, but I can change one life at a time. And that's enough for me to keep going.'