KUALA LUMPUR - She lost her factory job and her husband died several years ago. Without a steady income, her health has deteriorated and her two adult children cannot even afford to fend for themselves.

Single mother Savunthary Muniandy, 49, is crying for help.

"My 22-year-old daughter is a single mother who has a baby to feed. My son, 26, has been wayward for a long time now.

"I can't even afford to pay my medical bills for diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems. I owe my relatives over RM3,000 (S$1,232) for my bills," she said yesterday.

Savunthary is one of 30 single mothers from Cempaka Flats in Gombak, who sought help from the Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau after they claimed their appeals for financial support from the Welfare Department had fallen on deaf ears.

She receives RM50 a month from the department which can hardly pay for her flat rental of RM450.

Bureau chairman Datuk Muhd Khairun Aseh said the single mothers received between RM30 and RM150 when they should be getting a minimum of RM300 a month, depending on their situation.

"How are they going to survive?" Muhd Khairun asked, adding that he had prepared a memorandum to be submitted to department officials on Monday for them to act on their complaints.