PETALING JAYA, Jan 15 — A woman from Kuala Lumpur knew she had to do something after she witnessed an elderly woman being chased off a bus for soiling herself.
The Good Samaritan, who goes by Lucia Pier on Facebook, lent a helping hand to the elderly lady after a group of bus drivers told her that the smell was disturbing other passengers and that she should disembark.
The incident reportedly occurred near the Taman Mutiara MRT station in Cheras on the afternoon of January 9.
“She was trying her level best to reason with them to let her stay on the bus, but they still told her to go out.
“At that time, I was in a dilemma whether to go help or not. When Aunty decided to go out, I followed her and I told her that I can help her,” Pier wrote on Facebook.
As they spoke, Pier discovered that the woman was on her way back from a check-up at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital and that she had a prosthetic leg, poor vision, and kidney failure,
She was also living alone and had no one she could contact for help.
Pier then accompanied her to the disabled toilet at a nearby MRT station but was dismayed to find out that the sink was out of order and the door lock wasn’t working.
“It was really challenging because there was only one water source that can be used and the door couldn’t lock.
“Aunty was willing to rinse her pants and wear it again. Feeling sorry for her, I left her to clean herself and I ran to the nearest shopping mall and got her new pants and a face towel.”
After Pier rushed back to the elderly woman, she found out that the cleaner was angry over the wet and smelly state of the bathroom.
“She was telling Aunty to quickly come out. I told the cleaner I would help her to clean up.
“After I helped Aunty change, I told her to wait outside the toilet as I cleared the floor with a floor cleaner. I accompanied Aunty to the bus and saw her off till her drop-off point.”
Pier, who is studying to become a nurse, urged Rapid KL to improve public transport with seniors in mind, adding that many elderly people rely on their services to travel to hospitals and clinics for routine check-ups and procedures.
She also encouraged others to be understanding towards senior citizens in difficult situations such as the one faced by the elderly woman she encountered.
Malaysians showered praise on Pier for her kind and compassionate approach to the incident with Facebook user Michael Tan calling her an “exemplary human being”.
Meanwhile, Dennis Wong tagged Transport Minister Anthony Loke in the post to raise awareness about the problems faced by elderly people when using public transport.
