Pudu Plaza is a choice place for senior citizens to hang out
STEP into Pudu Plaza any day and you are bound to see many elderly folk loitering in the complex in Jalan Landak, Kuala Lumpur.For years, this place has been their place to congregrate. Some of them can be seen sitting at the entrance of the complex, while others hang out outside a snooker centre at the Family Entertainment Centre watching cue artistes potting black.
As these snooker players take their aim, the “prize” for their friendlies is of course money — in the form of betting.
A short walk away is a food court where the senior citizens — men and women included — spend their time chatting or reading newspapers while the lonely ones can be seen taking a nap on stools.
Whiling away time: A group of old folks patronising a hawker centre. A food stall operator, when asked, said children of the old folks would drop them at the plaza in the morning. The seniors will laze around till about 7pm before going home.
“They are a common sight,” she said, adding that the old folks number between 80 and 100.
“Some of them have families while others don’t.”
Another outlet which is a favourite haunt for these people is a video machine and gaming centre. The outlet seemed to be heavily guarded.
A senior citizen who was seen sitting alone on the concrete seats near the entrance of the complex, said he is an odd-job worker and hangs around waiting for jobs.
He said Pudu Plaza is popular with them because there are areas for them to sit, unlike elsewhere where there are none.
Old complex: The Pudu Plaza at Jalan Landak in Kuala Lumpur. “Some old folks also come here because they don’t have enough money to spend, so when they are out with friends, their friends help buy them food.”
An elderly man who wanted to be known only as Lee from Taman Maluri, when met at the snooker centre, said he frequents the place at regular intervals to pass time.
“Many of them are retired. Where else can they go or what can they do if they don’t spend their time here?” he asked.
However, he disagreed that these people do not have money to spend.
“You can see that money is involved when they are playing (snooker). Of course, they have money, most likely given by their children.”
He also said the notorious side of what many have come to know about the Pudu area is the women from China and their services.
He said these girls would hide behind escalators to avoid prying eyes.
Daily routine: A group playing snooker at the Family Entertainment Centre in Pudu Plaza. “You may not be able to identify her character, because you are a woman. They don’t look at you. But it is easy for us — men — to know that they are from China and offering those kind of services,” said Lee.
Another senior citizen known as Ng, from Pandan Jaya, said all of his children are already grown-up and busy working, so it was natural for him and his wife to just come out instead of “locking” themselves at home.
His 60-year-old wife is still working. The 70-year-old Ng has retired, and said he would often jog from his house to the complex.
His children do not send him here. He said: “I would jog. I have been jogging for the past 20 years, so distance is not a problem for me.”
He does not think old folks have any other place to go to, other than Pudu Plaza and Genting Highlands.
And of course, he is very much aware of the presence of the girls from China, saying there were many of them although the number has dwindled slightly.
Asked how old folks can afford the services of these Chinese girls since they may not have that much money, Ng claimed the girls do not charge high rates and that some are regular customers who can afford to pay.
“But these girls are not for me, I don’t indulge in such things,” he said.
Another man in his 70s who calls himself Choi Hong, said he is single without any family members.
He is staying in a PPR flat shared with two other occupants and his only income is RM300 a month from the Welfare Department as he is no longer working.
“I come here everyday. I have my bus pass that lets me to travel here.”
When asked why he does not join the others in playing snooker, he said the game is not for him and does not like mixing with some of the patrons inside.
Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun, when contacted, believes that there aren’t any recreational places like a park for old folks in the Bukit Bintang area or even in Kuala Lumpur, for that matter.
“The government should have a place like a park for old folks to play tai chi or chess. Otherwise, they would feel lonely and have nowhere to go to.
“This scenario here has been going on for the last 20 years or so,” he said.
Asked whether the China girls were the lure for them to be there, Fong said the old folks have been patronising the place even before the girls from China arrived.
The National Council of Senior Citizens Organisations Malaysia (Nacscom) president Datuk Lum Kin Tuck, when contacted, said he had often highlighted the plight of old folks to the government but because he had no substantial proof to show about the pathetic situation, nothing much is being done to address the problem.
“The government should be taking care of senior citizens like setting up day centres in various parts of Kuala Lumpur with activities for them.
“It is the government’s responsibility to take care of the elderly in desperate need, or we are going against the national policy of ageing,” said the 93-year-old Lum.
He said Nacscom has four day centres where old folks can sing, dance, play indoor games or read in the library, but these are not located in KL due to the high rental which Nacscom was unable afford.
“Unless the government comes in with aid to help with the set-up of the day centres, the old folks in Pudu will continue spending their money and wasting their time at the entertainment centre which is probably not for them,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment