Saturday July 9, 2011

Act of charity builds hope for Soosai

By CHITRA S. NATHAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PORT DICKSON: All he wanted for the past 15 years was to give his family a home they could call their own.

Although life has been tough and he came close to losing his house after defaulting on the instalments, paraplegic Michael Soosai will no longer have to worry.

There will be no more sleepless nights for the 54-year-old newsvendor as a couple of Good Samaritans have come forward to settle his house instalments.

When retired publishing representative and former journalist Goh See Meng read about Soosai's plight in The Star on June 29, she knew she had to do something.

Goh from Petaling Jaya and her friend Datuk Lim Sun Hoe donated the RM5,575.92 needed for Soosai to fully settle the balance owed on his three-room single storey terrace house which he bought for RM34,000 in a public housing scheme in Teluk Kemang near here.

The former features writer with The Star said she had been inspired by Soosai's story and decided to contribute what she could.

Timely aid: Goh presenting Soosai with groceries while Andrew, Karagaletchumi and Rita look on.

“I admire people like Soosai who lives an honest life and works hard despite the challenges,” she said.

“Although he is disabled, he has never taken a day off from work and leaves the house before dawn to deliver the papers everyday.

“I don't think I can do it,” she said after presenting Soosai with a cheque at his home here.

“It's just a small amount and we were in the position to help. I am just glad that I had the opportunity to do my bit,” she said.

Soosai, who was grinning from ear to ear after receiving the cheque, expressed his gratitude to Goh and Lim for their help.

He said he was touched that there were kind people willing to go out of their way to help a stranger.

“I'm relieved knowing that now this house will belong to us and no matter what happens, my family will be assured of a roof over their heads,” he said.

The father of three, the sole breadwinner, said he had struggled to make his instalment payments as he had no savings and most of the money he earned was used to support his family.

“I rely on my three-wheel motorcycle for work and its upkeep can cost me up to RM150 monthly and this is excluding petrol.

“My wife used to work as a cleaner but had to stop after my daughter was born,” he said.

His wife S. Karagaletchumi looks after nine-year-old Rita who is physically and mentally disabled. His son Edwin is a Fifth Former.

Malaysian Public Service Society president Andrew Raju, who highlighted Soosai's plight, said he would be meeting officers from the state Housing and Local Government unit to settle the house payments and obtain the necessary documents.

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Saturday July 9, 2011

Act of charity builds hope for Soosai

By CHITRA S. NATHAN newsdesk@thestar.com.my

By CHITRA S. NATHAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my