World’s Oldest Man’ Celebrates 146th Birthday and Says Patience Is Key For Long Life
Mbah Gotho blows out the candles on a birthday cake with relatives and neighbors, on December 31, 2016.
Sragen, 04 Rabiul Akhir 1438/03 January 2017 (MINA) – An Indonesian man who claims to be the oldest person ever to have lived has celebrated his 146th birthday, independent.co.uk reported Monday.
Mbah Gotho, from a small village in the Central Java province, has documentation that states he was born on 31 December 1870, and the Indonesian records office has said confirmed this was accurate.
If it is correct, this would earn him the title of the oldest person ever, a title currently held by French centenarian Jeanne Calment, who was 122 when she died.
Mr Gotho celebrated the landmark birthday with his grandson, Suryanto, and his wife, Suwarni, having reportedly outlived all 10 of his siblings, his four wives and his children.
During the celebrations, family and neighbours flocked to the modest house to celebrate the occasion, and Mr Gotho was seen grinning as they sang him a birthday song.
The elderly Indonesian reportedly managed to blow out all the candles in one puff.
Just patience
When previously asked the secret to a long life, Mr Gotho said: “The recipe is just patience”.
He is said to have begun preparing for his death in 1992, even having a gravestone made, but 24 years later he is still alive.
Mr Gotho has official documentation which shows his age, and the Indonesian records office says it has confirmed his birth date as December 31 1870.
However, the documents cannot be independently verified and Mr Gotho can not therefore go down in the record books.
His grandchildren said the pensioner spends most of his days listening to the radio because his eyesight is too poor to watch TV, according to reports.
There are a number of other people who also claim to have broken Jeanne Calment’s record, but whose ages have not been confirmed.
Nigerian James Olofintuyi has claimed to be 171, while Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia has claimed to be 163, but without verifiable documents they cannot be given her title. (T/RS05/RS01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
