SUNGAI PETANI: At a glimpse, Aiman Ikhwan Arman, 15, looks like any other boy his age.
However, outsiders may not aware of the burden on his shoulders, for he has to juggle caring for his ailing parents and a disabled elder brother while schooling.
The Form Three student of SMK Batu 5 in Gurun has accepted the fact that he is now the head of the family, having to look after his mother Mazliana Jamaluddin, 39, who is bedridden due to a brain tumour and his father Arman Othman, who had a stroke.
At the same time, the second child of three siblings is also caring for his brother Aiman Irfan, 20, who is disabled since birth as well as sister Aina Najwa, 10.
Before leaving for school, Aiman Ikhwan's routine is to clean his mother and change her disposable diaper, before feeding her with special formula milk.
"Three years ago, my mother started suffering from prolonged heavy headaches and she thought that it was just a migraine.
"Her condition deteriorated until she suffered a seizure and she began losing her eyesight.
"The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) results showed that my mother had a brain tumour and needed to undergo surgery immediately at the time," he said.
Despite the excruciating pain, Aiman Ikhwan said his mother refused to undergo the surgery as she was worried that nobody would look after the family.
At the same time, his father, who worked at a fertiliser factory, suffered a stroke which left him semi-paralysed.
"All my friends are having fun during their free time but I accept the fact that I have to shoulder the responsibility of caring for my parents," he said.
Aiman Ikhwan has the support of his aunt who lives nearby to look after his parents when he is at school.
Whenever his mother is hospitalised, the boy would have to skip school to help care for her in the hospital.
The family is now surviving on his father's Social Security Organisation monthly allowance of RM750 and RM450 allowance from Welfare Services Department for his mother, besides contributions from Zakat Kedah and other well-wishers including his school.
"We have to be extra prudent as we need to pay RM300 for monthly house rental, besides spending on disposable diapers and special formula milk for my mother, as well as other expenses," he said.
The family's predicament had caught the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Finance Minister.
Yesterday, the political secretary to Finance Minister, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim paid a visit to the family home in Taman Mesra Ria here to present aid from the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) under the Prime Minister's Department.
He said although the family is getting monthly cash assistance from multiple agencies, the ICU would be providing additional aid to the family to ease their burden.
The visit was part of his work visit to Kedah where he also presented aid to two other families in Gurun, accompanied by Sungai Petani Member of Parliament Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari.