Forgotten in Melaka: A Couple’s Desperate Plea for Help

Left in the Rain: A Melaka Couple’s Unseen Struggle

Married in hope, now living without water, electricity, or a safe roof — and ignored by those they begged for help.

MELAKA, Malaysia — In a crumbling leasehold house on the outskirts of this historic city, a husband and wife cling to each other and to the rainwater that keeps them alive. He is 64. She is 48. They have been married since 2022, and for four years they have endured conditions that most people would not believe still exist in modern Malaysia.

🔹 Key facts about their living situation:

• Water and electricity supply were cut off in 2019, long before they moved in.
• They rely entirely on rainwater for bathing, cooking, and drinking.
• The roof leaks badly; the structure is deteriorating and increasingly dangerous.
• The house is part of a bitter family inheritance dispute that complicates any solution.
• Also living there is an elderly relative with intellectual disability, who frequently bathes naked in the garden when the wife is outside, adding to her distress.

Every time dark clouds gather, the couple’s hearts sink. “When it rains, we are forced to catch every drop – it is our only water source, but it also reminds us how broken our home is,” the wife wrote in a message filled with both despair and a stubborn flicker of hope. The roof no longer protects them; instead, it channels rain into buckets and pots scattered across the floor.

What makes their isolation even more painful is the long list of doors they have knocked on – all of which remained firmly shut.

They reached out everywhere – and were met with silence or insult

The couple have contacted well‑known Malaysian TikTokers, state water company SAMB, electricity provider TNB, a DAP elected representative, the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), and even shared their plight in various Facebook support groups. Instead of compassion, one Facebook group member shouted them down as “scammers.”

Desperate for any kind of lifeline, they also turned to Tzu Chi. The husband, 64, is actually a registered recipient of Tzu Chi’s monthly food aid, and for that they are deeply grateful – it has literally kept them alive. But beyond the food pack, no further assistance has come, and their calls for help with the collapsed living conditions have gone unanswered.

“We are very thankful for the food from Tzu Chi. That food is what has sustained us all this time. But we still live in a house that is falling apart, without water or lights, and nobody wants to really see us.”

Visits that brought cameras, not help

There have been visits – but they only deepened the hurt. A delegation from a political party came. So did officers from the Social Welfare Department (JKM). Both groups spoke only to the elderly intellectually disabled man who shares the house, treating him as the sole resident. The political entourage even posed for photos with him, uploaded the pictures to their Instagram accounts, and left. No one spoke to the suffering couple. No one inspected the leaking roof or asked where they get water.

“They took selfies with the retarded uncle and went away. They didn’t help us. It was like we were invisible,” the wife recalled, her words heavy with abandonment.

For four years since their marriage, this man and woman have been slipping through every safety net. The husband, already in his mid‑60s, is unable to work. They have no savings, no income, and no family willing to intervene. Every night they pray that someone – a rescue group, volunteers, ordinary Malaysians with big hearts – will come and witness their suffering with their own eyes.

⚠️ They are not asking for luxury. They are asking for a roof that doesn't leak, access to clean water, and a flicker of human dignity.

A message of hope that refuses to die

Despite everything, the couple still writes messages filled with hope. They address themselves to “rescuers,” to “volunteers,” to anyone who might read their words and feel moved to act. They want to be seen, not as a case file, but as two human beings who married late in life believing they could build a small world together – only to find themselves trapped in a forgotten corner of Melaka.

They beg not for money transfers, but for presence. For someone to walk through their leaking doorway, see the buckets of rainwater, smell the mildew, and understand that survival here is an act of daily courage.

“We have nowhere else to complain. We only hope a rescue group or volunteers will come and see our suffering and this dilapidated house with their own eyes. Maybe then our lives can be saved.”

If you are a charitable organization, a community volunteer, or simply a person who can help connect this couple to the right resources, please consider reaching out. The house is in the Melaka area – exact location will be verified for genuine helpers. Let’s prove that no one should have to live like this, unseen and unheard.

Written as a voice for those who have been ignored.
Share this story. Bring attention. Be the help that finally arrives.

— Blog entry, June 2026