KUALA LUMPUR: When a hero is in need of love and care, many Malaysians will be there.
Ailing composer Datuk Ooi Eow Jin's wife, Datin Elaine Khaw is touched that people from all walks of life have been "snapping up" the kuih kapit she sells to fund his medical treatment.
"Over the last two weeks, I've successfully sold 600 tins of kuih kapit, and every day, my handphone hardly stops ringing," she told the New Straits Times on Friday.
"On some days, the biscuit gets sold out fast - customers not only love it, they know it's for a good cause and buy more than one tin."
Khaw, assisted by close friends, sells kuih kapit for RM20 per tin and taufu crackers for RM18 per packet.
"The public also loves the crackers, which are hard to find, and I've sold 200 packets."
Khaw said her husband was in good spirits and the family thanked all well-wishers for supporting them.
"He's happy that Malaysians remember him and do their best to help. His old friends drop by to cheer him up," she said.
Ooi, 80, has been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease since 2015 and is cared for by his wife and a maid.
Khaw is also looking after their 53-year-old son Chin Seng who has a brain tumour.
In addition to the biscuit sales, non-governmental organisation SeniorsAloud is helping Ooi with funds and necessities.
Ooi's career spanned four decades beginning in the 1960s, and he has collaborated with iconic singers Tan Sri P Ramlee and Datuk Sudirman Arshad.
His last job was resident pianist in Majestic Hotel. He spent five years there, until the illness forced him to stop playing in 2015.
The public can purchase biscuits and crackers by calling 018-234 5133. They can be collected from No. 20, Jalan SS23/35, Taman SEA, Petaling Jaya.