It's time for the dinner of overcoming adversity again. Today, Siew Yong shares her story of overcoming adversity with us. She has prepared a dish of green vegetables with soy sauce and also shares her childhood story of resilience. She was born in Kampung Paya Coconut Grove in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. Her father was a rubber tapper, earning a meager income of RM5 a day to support their large family, making life very difficult.

"I have 8 siblings, and I am the eldest. The most challenging time was when the first four children were born. My mother didn't work and stayed at home to take care of the children, relying solely on my father's income from rubber tapping. As the eldest in the family, at a young age, around eight or nine, I had to go to the market to buy vegetables and cook for the entire family..."

Siew Yong recalls that in her childhood, her father gave her one dollar to buy groceries. She used three cents to buy pork, three cents to buy 'fish coarse' (referring to various types of fish used to feed pigs and pets), one cent to buy bean sprouts and dried tofu, and one cent to buy vegetables or napa cabbage.

“During those tough times, we would simply boil the vegetables and eat them with salt or a bit of soy sauce. The soy sauce we used didn't have any brand back then. But the soy sauce I bought for you all today is a high-quality, branded one. I cooked two types of green vegetables for you today, including oilseed rape and baby pak choy. However, in the past, we would only have one type of vegetable per meal, either cabbage or Pak choy.”

When talking about the hardships of the past and her father's love, Siew Yong can't help but get emotional. "My father had a very tough life... those were really challenging times..."

Her resilience and sadness seem to be frozen in her eyes. Every time she mentions it, she can't help but be moved.

Like her fellow friends in the settlement, the sudden onset of leprosy changed everything.

In 1964, at the age of 13, Siew Yong was forced to leave her hometown, far away from her family, to face an unknown world alone. When she entered the Sungai Buloh settlement for treatment, her parents only gave her a few sets of clothes and RM20 in pocket money, and nothing else.

"I was brought here by the doctors from the Penang General Hospital. At that time, my hands and feet were covered in red lumps, and my father was crying so much! The government provided us with two train tickets to come here... My father loved me very much, and after he returned, he would send me RM10 or RM20 every month..."

Because she had a loving father who sent her to the settlement, Siew Yong still can't help but shed tears when she recalls that scene.

Although she no longer had to shoulder the heavy household chores after entering the settlement and had the opportunity to attend school, Siew Yong says she only studied for four years before the doctors forced her to leave the settlement.

"Dr. Pearson said we were cured and could leave. They forced us to leave the settlement because there were too many patients at the time. After leaving the settlement, I went to help other families with household chores..."

As time went on, Siew Yong returned to the settlement. However, because she had previously discharged, her medical treatment board (aka papan) were returned to the hospital, and she became a "person without a papan."

"People with a papan" are those who have never left the settlement and still enjoy various government benefits, including a daily meal allowance of RM30. As for those without a record board, the hospital authority only provides free accommodation without any meal allowance.

Now, Siew Yong still works every day. She is a newspaper delivery person in our community, riding her motorcycle to deliver newspapers to decrepit ward and chalets every morning.

"In the past, more than 300 people ordered newspapers from me, but now there are only a little over 10. After online newspapers became popular, fewer people ordered physical newspapers. The elderly in the ward only order four copies, and the council orders two, and the rest are for the chalets..."

In addition to delivering newspapers, Siew Yong also prepares meals for people, and even helps the elderly in the ward to pack food and buy groceries. With her own hands, she strives to create a better life.

We hope Siew Yong remains healthy and safe, and that her work is not just a means to make a living but to lead a better life. After all, the days of overcoming adversity from the past are long behind her.

Siew Yong's Inspirational Life of Overcoming Adversity