IPOH, Nov 13 — Tomorrow is Deepavali but for P. Maniam and his wife, it will just be another day for them.
The 62-year-old said he would be spending his time looking for odd jobs to feed himself and his wife.
“Tomorrow will just be another day for us,” said the father of two when asked how was the family’s preparation for the Festival of Lights.
Maniam said he had been finding it difficult to get a permanent job since returning from Singapore five years ago.
“My livelihood now is dependent on odd jobs that I take,” he said.
Speaking to Malay Mail when met at a soup kitchen run by Ipoh Barat member of parliament M. Kulasegaran, Maniam said on days when he has no money to buy food, he would queue up at soup kitchens for a free meal.
“Guess tomorrow will be the same,” he said, adding that his two children could not afford to help him either as they too are also finding it hard to make ends meet.
For G. Veera, his life went downhill following the death of his father 15 years ago.
“I could not work after sustaining a serious injury following an accident in 1983 that left me in a coma for 55 days,” he said, adding that he had been dependent on his father since the accident.
After the passing of his father, Veera said he has been doing odd jobs for a living.
“Now I use my motorcycle to earn some money,” said the 65-year-old divorcee, who also receives monthly financial aid from the Welfare Department.
Asked how he will celebrate Deepavali, Veera said he would offer prayers to his parents at home.
“Then I will wait for calls if anyone needs my motorcycle service,” he said.
Kulasegaran said the soup kitchen, which is located at his service centre, began two months ago.
“Initially, we only wanted to do it twice a month but after we started, we found there was a demand for it and decided to increase it to twice a week.”
“We hope to increase it to daily feedings if there are sponsors,” he said.
Kulasegaran said prior to the current conditional movement control order (CMCO), the people could have their meals at the service centre.
“Due to CMCO, we had to pre-pack the food for them,” he said, adding that aside from chicken, the pack also contains vegetables, fruits and water.
In conjunction with Deepavali, a packet of muruku was also included in the pack.
Kulasegaran added that when the soup kitchen first started, only about 40 people came.
“Now, the number has increased to 100,” he said, adding that many people had become jobless due to Covid-19.
Those who wish to donate to the soup kitchen can contact Vadi at 012-5121470.
