PETALING JAYA: When the property market froze due to the Covid-19 movement restrictions, Robin Yap lost the means to keep his illness-ravaged family afloat.
The 59-year-old real estate agent was the sole breadwinner when the epidemic struck in 2020 and, since exhausting nearly all of his EPF savings, has had to reach out to family and friends to help him meet household and medical costs.
The gloom deepened when Yap lost half his left foot to diabetes last September even as he searched in vain for a job.
And then his youngest son died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy at 17. That condition causes progressive muscle degeneration.
The savings he had were also used to treat his wife, Nar Lay Heong, who developed lupus not long afterwards. It is a disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.
On top of that, he has to care for his two other children, one autistic and the other suffering from mental health issues.
Yap said he needed about RM4,000 a month to support his family.
He is seeking a job that does not require moving about so that he can work from home.
He said he was keen on data entry or jobs related to sales and business development.
He has been getting by with a monthly welfare aid of RM300 as well as the generosity of friends and family.
But the altruism has left him uncomfortable.
“I can’t keep doing this. I feel really bad,” he said.
“And I feel awful when some of my friends tell me they cannot be sending me money all the time. I feel like I am burdening them.”
That is why Yap is determined to find a job. Money aside, it would also be therapeutic. “It will give me something else to focus on beyond just caring for my wife and children.” - FMT
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