New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/03/19/loyal-buddy-stays-by-his-friends-side/

Loyal buddy stays by his friend's side

TELUK INTAN, March 19, 2015:

Boilerman Mohd Yusof Rohani had to struggle to raise his six daughters. But despite his poverty, he has never forgotten his childhood friend and has been caring for him like a family member.

The 45-year-old was reported in Harian Metro recently as being a loyal friend to double amputee R. Doraisamy, 65, who is also blind due to diabetes.

True to the motto of “never leave a man behind”, Mohd Yusof, who speaks fluent Tamil, has been taking care of Doraisamy, more so for the last 15 years after he had his first amputation.

After his amputation, Doraisamy became a prisoner to his wheelchair and Mohd Yusof was his window to the world.

Living in the same oil palm estate in Kg Selabak here, the two of them had known each other since their teenage days.

“We used to hang out together, chit chatting and just going around, and sometimes we ended up getting involved in all sorts of misdemeanors, like all boys often do.

“Of course, there were no gadgets of any kind back then, but we really had a good time.

“We always had face-to-face interactions which helped to bond our friendship,” Doraisamy told The Rakyat Post when met at his home recently.

He said many of the friends in their circle eventually moved out of town when they were old enough to get better jobs in bigger cities.

They lost contact with one another, except for Doraisamy, who worked in Teluk Intan as a carpenter, and Mohd Yusof.

Double amputee R. Doraisamy, 65, is also blind due to diabetes. — TRP pic by Mokhsin Zamani

Doraisamy’s brother-in-law A. Selvarajan said many had praised Mohd Yusof for his kindness in taking care of friends, even though he himself is poor and has little.

“Despite having to work six days a week as a boilerman, he still devoted time and resources to lift up Doraisamy’s spirits.

“Every week, without fail he would send Doraisamy to hospital or take him around town for ‘sight-seeing’ and tea sessions at the kopitiam.

“His friendship with Doraisamy is something of a family bond,” said Selvarajan, 54.

Together with his wife, who is Doraisamy’s younger sister, they struggle to take care of Doraisamy with their combined salary of about RM70 a day as oil palm plantation workers.

For Mohd Yusof, “leaving no man behind” is not a hard ideal to put into practice.

He knows well there are limits to what he can do due to his own commitment to his family.

“When you have a big family to feed, you can’t always be by the side of your friends in need. You can’t worry too much whether they’re happy with how they’re doing.

“You just try your best to help. It’s like keeping up a promise of not leaving anyone behind and not letting them fall into despair.”

He added that another close friend of Doraisamy, known simply as Ah Choong, had been bringing him his medications.

Ah Choong had known Doraisamy while working together as carpenters.

However, Ah Choong’s diabetic condition worsened in recent months and he now can no longer move around freely, he said.

Mohd Yusof was surprised that his acts of service to his friend had drawn so much attention from the public after the story went viral on Facebook.

“I tried to show a newspaper cutting to Doraisamy, but sadly he won’t be able to see it.

“That would have lifted his spirits,” he said, adding that they had wanted to travel abroad to see the world but never had the chance.

They just could not afford it in their younger days as air travel was quite expensive back then, especially for working class people like them.

Mohd Yusof also shared how Doraisamy would lend him money from his RM300 a month social welfare aid whenever he was in dire financial need.

“He would never accept it when I returned the money. I had to quietly put the money in his prosthetic leg or in his pillow instead,” said Mohd Yusof, who now stays in Langkap.

He agreed that close friendships between different races wasn’t uncommon, but these were becoming infrequent in Malaysia’s multiracial society due to seemingly increasing racial polarisation.

He said this was true especially among the younger generation, which was among the reasons why he sent his children to study in a Chinese school.

“It’s more expensive, but I really want them to get to know friends from other communities.