Sadly, many of them, aged between 65 to 79-years-old, now tremble in the cold and can be seen sleeping along the sidewalks with no shelter to call home.

“We are sleeping on a bed of roses and they’re sleeping on the streets,” mourned Sarah Abdullah, 64, executive secretary of Urban Life Volunteers (ULV), a charitable organisation currently helping these forgotten men.

“They deserve to be honoured, as they once brought fame and tourists to our shores. This isn’t the way to treat them.”

They have served Penang’s economy for decades through entertaining thousands of tourists, but ever since the pandemic struck, they’ve been neglected and overlooked by the state.

“The pandemic has caused a lot of financial problems and I can’t afford to pay my rent,” lamented 66-year-old Samsudin Ahmad, who has paddled his trishaw for more than 40 years, but is now homeless and penniless.

“I haven’t had a single ride since last year and I’m only getting RM100 each month from the state government now. Half of it goes towards paying my trishaw rent,” added Samsudin.

Like Samsudin, 74-year-old Koay Ah Ching, has been struggling.

“I shower in public toilets, but when I’m lucky, I rent a room for RM150 a night and get some comfort,” said Koay, as he sat looking dejected in his trishaw.

When Koay can’t afford a room for the night, he’s out on the streets like most riders and sleeps within his cramped trishaw seat.

“We don’t have wives because no one wants us, as we spent all our years cycling and drenched in sweat,” said Tan Hee Pheng, a rider in his seventies, who expressed his misery and loneliness.

“We used to earn RM1,500 to RM2,000 each month before the pandemic and our lives were very fulfilling,” Tan said with a half-smile, adding that the small earnings back then were enough to get by.

To add salt to injury, many of the older riders suffer from severe health problems like diabetes, eye cancer, skin diseases, damaged kidneys and even tuberculosis.

“We brought seven of them to the hospital,” said Sarah, as she recalled an injured rider with an open, pus-filled wound.

“Four of them are diabetic, while one of them is a 79-year old with thyroid problems and is almost deaf.”

Their sufferings tore a hole in Sarah’s heart, especially after she realised that the 79-year-old had watched her grow up.

“He used to ferry me to school in his trishaw. When I asked him if he remembered me, he started crying,” Sarah said, adding that the mention of her father’s name brought the old man to tears.

“Back then, my father was known throughout our area for helping trishaw riders and anyone else who needed help.”

Currently, Sarah shoulders her father’s legacy through ULV, which has been providing food, medical and financial aid for about 60 riders since May 1.

Thanks to the generous donations of many, they’ve recently been able to distribute allowances of RM50 to each rider on the first and fifteenth of every month.

Sarah’s team also spends Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays distributing warm meal boxes and medical kits to riders across five districts in George Town.

Although they’ve received massive support with groceries and food aid, ULV currently needs more medical kits and supplements for the elderly, as doctors have raised concerns about the riders’ deteriorating bone health and skin diseases.

“They’re dying and by the time the MCO is over, the oldest may not even be here anymore,” said Sarah, as she pleads for the Penang government to step in.

“They are human beings. They are our uncles and we should do our part to help them.”

Sarah hopes to work together with the state government soon to help save these forgotten heroes and provide them with shelter, additional financial assistance and new job opportunities.

This will not only give them more independence, but will put an end to them having to sleep on the same streets they used to thrive on before this deadly virus appeared.

ULV is currently in need of supplements and medical supplies for Penang’s trishaw riders. Their wish list can be found on Facebook. As for monetary donations, contact Sarah Abdullah directly via WhatsApp at 010 – 377 1025 for ULV’s banking details.