Indonesian man who claims to be world’s oldest person aged 145 says can no longer stand living… and even bought his own gravestone 20 years ago
Documents recognised by local officials say he was born New Year's Eve 1870
A MAN who claims to be 145-years-old says he’s so old now he is “ready to die” – and even bought his gravestone 20 YEARS AGO.
According to documents recognised by Indonesian officials, Mbah Gotho is 145 and was born on New Year’s Eve in 1870.
He has not surprisingly outlived all 10 of his siblings as well as his FOUR wives, the last of whom died in 1988.
All of his children have also died, and now he is survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
If the documents are true, that makes him significantly older than the verified oldest person in the world ever - a title that belongs to French woman Jeanne Calment who lived to be 122.
The super senior citizen from Sragen, Central Java, was recently interviewed by Liputan 6, and he said he has been through it all and would not mind passing on.
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"What I want is to die. My grandchildren are all independent," he told Liputan 6 on Tuesday.
Suryanto, Mbah Gotho’s grandson, said his grandfather has been preparing for his death ever since he was 122, but it never seemed to come.
He said: "The gravestone there was made in 1992. That was 24 years ago."
In addition, Suryanto said Mbah Gotho’s family has already prepared a grave site for him - near his children’s graves.
Staff at the Indonesian records office have confirmed Mbah Gotho’s birth date, which is specified on his Indonesian ID card as December 31, 1870.
Whether or not he will ever be listed as the world's oldest man however is open to question, as the paperwork has so far not been independently verified.
If so he will join others without verifiable records who are believed to be older than Mbah Gotho - 171-year-old James Olofintuyi from Nigeria and 163-year-old Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia.
These days, his grandchildren say Mbah Gotho mostly sits listening to the radio because his eyesight is too poor to watch TV.
For the past three months, he has had to be spoon-fed and bathed as he has become more frail.
When asked what his secret to longevity is, Mbah Gotho replied: "The recipe is just patience."
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