Well that was when we decided to take a look at how much it will cost if karma were to decide to hit, and the younger generation were in turn heartlessly abandoned by their own children.
Sadly, many of the public hospitals report that there have been cases of unclaimed parents – as though they are mere items to be discarded. One such case is Kak Tijah* who used up the entire savings from her retirement fund to pay for her son's wedding preparations. You'd think the son and his wife would be grateful for the (interest-free) financial assistance they received; however when Kak Tijah fell ill and had no more money to her name, she was cruelly abandoned.
If this attitude keeps up, there will be more regular stories about elderly parents dumped at the doorsteps of nursing homes and hospitals. A source from a public hospital confirms this, stating that the most common cases are of senior citizens in their 60s, especially if they suffer from medical conditions, physical disabilities or other serious illnesses.
As the facts and figures below show, the world is an aging one, and it's time the younger generation learn how to be responsible and treasure the ones who toiled to raise them since birth. Read the full article here.
*Not her real name.
Data obtained from: LPPKN (Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara), UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), The World Bank, and The World Health Organisation (WHO).