Pic shows: The old man - Mbah Gotho, 145. An Indonesian man who has emerged from obscurity to be named the world's oldest at an incredible 145 years has told the media that he is ready to die now. According to documentation recognised by Indonesian officials, Mbah Gotho is 145 and was born on 31st December 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 correct, 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. "What I want is to die. My grandchildren are all independent," he told Liputan 6 on Tuesday. Suryanto, Mbah Gothos 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 Gothos family has already prepared a gravesite for him - near his childrens graves. Staff at the Indonesian records office have confirmed Mbah Gothos birthdate, which is specified on his Indonesian ID card as 31st December 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 to others without verifiable records who are purportedly 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 television. For the past three months, he has had to
An Indonesian man who has emerged as the world’s oldest at an incredible 145 years has revealed he is ready to die.
Documents recognised by Indonesian officials show Mbah Gotho is 145 and was born on December 31, 1870. If his documentation is authentic, it would make him the oldest human on earth; a title currently held by French centenarian Jeanne Calment, who was 122 when she died. But if the documents cannot be independently verified, Mr Gotho will not go down in the record books.
During an interview with a regional news network, he revealed that he wants to die. For the past three months, he has needed to be bathed and spoon-fed and is becoming increasingly frail. When asked the secret to a long life, he replied, “The recipe is just patience.” Gotho said he began preparing for his death in 1992, even having a gravestone made, but 24 years later he is still alive. He has now outlived all ten of his siblings, his four wives and his children.
There are a number of people who claim to have broken Jeanne Calment’s record, such as Nigerian James Olofintuyi, who claims to be 171, and Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia, who claims to be 163, but just like Mr Gotho, without verifiable documents they cannot be given her title.
