Doctor Claims Some M'sians Starve Parents & Send Them To Hospitals Before Festive Seasons
A Malaysian doctor and nurse claimed some adult children send their parents to the hospital because they do not want to celebrate festive seasons with them.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 14 Apr 2023, 10:42 AM
A Malaysian doctor and nurse have taken to TikTok to highlight an observation of theirs.
According to them, during festive seasons, some people send their elderly parents to hospitals right before celebrations begin.
They claim that people do this because they allegedly do not want to have their parents around during the festive seasons, even going as far as to intentionally make their elderly parents sick.
In the video, Dr Amirah Azlan shared, "We have reached the second week of Ramadan, which is a critical period. Because (this is the time adult) children will suddenly send their parents to the hospitals before they return to their kampung, citing that their parents have fallen sick as reasons (for hospital admission).
"Parents who get sent here are those suffering from paralysis and walking difficulty. They have a lot of reasons to send (their elderly parents here). Sometimes, they won't provide water and food to their parents, causing them to fall into a weak body state, and we have no choice but to admit them to the hospital.
"Even (if) the parents have recovered before Hari Raya, the children also won't pick them up and insist firmly that they will only pick them up after the celebration."
Citing parents who are suffering from amnesia as an example, Amirah said she understands that some children have to send their parents to nursing homes because they have to go to work.
But what she cannot understand is people who send their parents to hospitals.
She then shared a tearful encounter she witnessed during her housemanship, recollecting a mak cik she used to care for who stayed at the hospital for months.
She said the elderly woman underwent brain surgery to remove blood clots and was completely paralysed.
"She could only move her eyes to look at us... I asked her child to pick her up but her child gave a lot of reasons," she related.
"They said they don't know how to feed her and wash the (tracheostomy), even though we told them that they can wash the tracheostomy at a clinic and taught them how to feed their mother.
"When (we) were arguing (with the child over the matters), the mak cik looked and started crying. So, I wiped off her tears.
"I said, 'Mak cik, this world is unfair...'. The mak cik passed away that evening. Please don't do that to your parents," she said, concluding the video in a shaky voice.
Amirah's video can be found below:
After Amirah's video went viral, it caught the attention of TikTok user AyieTDF, who works as a nurse
In a video responding to Amirah's TikTok, he agreed that her observation of children leaving their parents at hospitals before festive seasons is accurate, saying that he had seen such a phenomenon repeat year after year.
He added that this occurrence is also observed before Chinese New Year and other festivities that last two to three days, claiming that some children starve their elderly parents on purpose just so they can send them to hospitals.
"If I don't work in a hospital, I wouldn't believe such a phenomenon would happen and would dismiss it as a rumour. But we have seen this happen for many years," said the nurse.
"I can't believe that's how these children thank their parents (for raising them)... So during festive seasons, don't assume that hospital staff would be free, when in fact, it's our busiest period because of all these children," he said, referring to them as anak tanggang (ungrateful children).
"What goes around, comes around," he added, ending the video by reminding his viewers that there will be karma to their actions and to always take good care of their parents.
AyieTDF's video can be found below:
