A man in the state of Kelantan was found living in unwelcoming conditions and surviving on RM 150 a month.

Ismail Dollah, a rubber tapper has been living in a storeroom at a rubber estate since 2008. Prior to the death of his parents, he lived with his sister for some months but shifted to the rubber estate.

He said, “I make a living as a rubber tapper here and my employer allowed me to live in this storeroom although there’s no water supply and electricity.”

The 60-year-old often hikes a hill to get water supply. For him to be prudent with the water supply, he collects rainwater for washing and bathing.

In the pitch-dark room, candlelight is the only way for the storeroom to be lit up. He also uses the candles to climb up the hill when it’s at night.

Surviving with only RM 150 a month, eating lavishly is not a choice given to Ismail.

His source of food comes from an accessible river near the estate to catch fish. If he is unable to catch a fish, he is left to eat plain rice with salt.

The bachelor added, “The salt is just used to add flavour because I don’t practise eating ‘budu’ (traditional condiment) due to my conditions such as high blood pressure and since I live alone in a remote area like this, I need to take care of my health.”

Recently activists from the Cempaka Merah Asnaf Society (CMS) had come to the aid of Ismail. They had provided him two units of solar panels and donated food supplies.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

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