My Car, My Home

This article from The Star caught my attention...

Living in car in memory of fourth wife
By R.S.N. MURALI

BESUT: An octogenarian is living in his car in memory of his wife.
MC456, Volvo Car, Kampung Alor Teratai, Kuala Besut is the unofficial address of 86-year-old former Customs officer Ngah Muhamad.

Home, sweet home: Ngah taking it easy in his ‘66 Volvo.

It’s a parking lot of the Alor Teratai mosque which gave him a “permanent place and allowed him to use facilities at the place of worship.”

Ngah has turned his dream car – a 1966 Volvo 122C (registration number MC456) which he bought for RM16,000 in 1975 – into his home for the last six years.
The booth and rear seat are the storage spaces for his belongings.

Ngah decided to live in the car after the death of his fourth wife in 2002.
“I bought the Volvo because she had this passion for the model. This is the car that I use to bring her out on dates. It brings back memories of her,” he said.

Asked why he was living in the car and if he owns a house, he said nonchalantly: “You know if you love someone so much, what they long for during their existence should be cherished.
“I really can’t explain; this is fondness for someone you love so much, you can only understand me once you have lost someone dear.

“I was an orphan at a young age so I don’t mind living a lonely life at my age. I don’t like to trouble my children, they have their own lives too,” he added.
Ngah said the Volvo had been his second car.

His first was a Morris Sport edition. “People used to call me a P. Ramlee carbon copy back then as I was among the few people who owned a sports car then,” he quipped.
“I used to date my first three wives with the Morris.”

Ngah recalls driving from Johor Baru to Kuala Terengganu in the Volvo in 23 hours in 1976.
“Its something amazing then as you don’t have good highways. Now you can make it in nine hours,” he said.

Ngah joined the civil service in 1937 with a salary of RM37. In 1945, he was promoted and transferred to Pasir Gudang, Johor where he spent most of his working life and returned to Kuala Besut after retirement.

Asked why he chose to stay in a such condition and not with his children, he said: “They have done their filial duties enough.”