A mother’s love knows no bounds

While driving from Jalan Cochrane to Jalan Pasar in Kuala Lumpur a few days ago, I was piqued by the sight of an elderly woman carrying an adult on her bicycle.

She had to stop just before the Jalan Tun Razak intersection and resumed pedalling when the coast was clear, exerting great effort from a standing start.

I cycle for exercise on most mornings for around 45 minutes, but it would be tough even for me to take off with such a heavy load.

Impressed with what I saw, I managed to take a photo of them cycling along Jalan Pasar. I was there with my wife to buy vegetables from the Pudu market.

On the way back later, I spotted them travelling along Jalan Cochrane in front of MyTown shopping centre and decided to follow and see where they were heading.

They turned into the low-cost flats located next to Jalan Perkasa and I lost them while trying to park my car, as it took a while to find an empty parking lot.

I then made a search and checked with a disabled man seated in a wheelchair who was occupying one of the ground-floor units. I showed him the photo I had taken and he immediately recognised the woman.

He confirmed that the woman was cycling with her mentally challenged daughter. They have been using a bicycle to go to the Pudu market since 2004. When the daughter was a lot younger, her mother used to strap her on a baby chair to carry her on her bicycle.

They are staying at the Cochrane PPR next to Jalan Perkasa but the entrance is next to MyTown.

The elderly woman does not look healthy and cannot possibly carry on pedalling for long. If so, the little joy they have in this world will come crashing down.

It would be a great day if a kind benefactor comes forward to donate a battery-powered bicycle to this elderly person.

It would also certainly bring cheer to many residents there who are unable to help and who can only watch the mother take care of her daughter.

It would be a just reward for the mother who has cared for her physically grown but mentally challenged child, not just for a day, but over the past 15 years and more.

YS Chan is an FMT reader.