SLIM POLLS | Every morning, after 96-year-old wheelchair-bound Renggaiyah Marumuthu wakes up, he will spend the day in front of his shophouse.

He lives at a row of shophouses in Pekan Trolak which have been there for 80 years. Renggaiyah, who is fondly known as ‘Renga tathta’ which means Grandpa Renga, has lived there for more than half a century.

At the front of his shophouse, Renga would watch the roads and the vehicles passing by until lunchtime.

Malaysiakini had the opportunity to speak with him while covering the Slim by-election and was surprised to learn about his age and that he had voted in the country’s first general election in 1955.

Renggaiyah also revealed that he was a former soldier...