Our Story
Built Around the Families Who Asked for It
Sahabat began in George Town with a straightforward idea: older relatives deserve good company at home, and families deserve to feel settled knowing someone reliable is there.
← Back to HomeWho We Are
A Small Team With a Clear Focus
Sahabat was established in George Town, Penang, by a group of people who had each navigated the same challenge within their own families: how do you keep an older relative comfortable and well-companioned at home when your own days are full?
The name Sahabat — meaning "friend" in Malay — reflects what we're actually trying to do. Not an institution, not a service list, but a genuine, ongoing relationship between companions and the families they support.
We work with a small number of families at a time. This is a deliberate choice. It means we can give each arrangement the attention it deserves, check in properly, and adapt when things change — which they always do, in any household.
What We Believe
Familiarity matters more than novelty
Older relatives thrive when the people around them are consistent and familiar. We don't rotate companions frequently.
Families should never feel out of the loop
We keep communication open and regular, without being intrusive about it.
Home should feel like home
We work within the existing rhythms of a household, not against them.
Honesty over optimism
We tell families what we can and cannot do, and don't stretch what we offer beyond where it actually helps.
The People Behind Sahabat
A Team That Understands Family
Each member of the Sahabat team brings personal experience of home-based family support. That context shapes the way we work.
Nur Amalina Rashid
Founder & Lead Coordinator
Amalina spent five years coordinating household support for her own grandmother before starting Sahabat. She handles all family onboarding and companion matching personally.
Chong Wei Liang
Household Coordination Lead
Wei Liang oversees the Daily Living Support service, working directly with household helpers and families to keep routines steady and communication clear.
Selvam Pillai
Home Setup Consultant
Selvam leads the Home Comfort & Accessibility Setup service. He conducts on-site and remote assessments and has a background in interior organisation and practical living solutions.
How We Work
Standards We Hold Ourselves To
These aren't rules we follow because we have to — they reflect the way we'd want someone to work in our own family's home.
Companion Screening
All companions are personally interviewed and assessed by the Sahabat team before any introduction is made to a family.
Family Privacy
Household details, personal circumstances, and family information are kept strictly between Sahabat and the family concerned.
Regular Review
Each arrangement is reviewed with the family after the first month, then quarterly. Adjustments are made as needs evolve.
Language Sensitivity
We match companions based partly on language comfort — whether English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Hokkien, or Cantonese.
Written Arrangements
What is agreed is written down and shared with the family before visits begin. There are no verbal-only understandings.
Direct Contact Always
Families can contact the Sahabat team directly at any time during office hours. There is no automated system between you and us.
Home Support Coordination in Penang
Penang is a place where multi-generational households are still common, and where families take genuine pride in keeping older relatives at home rather than in institutional settings. At Sahabat, we work within that tradition rather than around it.
Our work spans three areas: structured daytime companionship, coordination of daily household tasks, and consulting on home layout and comfort for older occupants. Each of these was developed in response to actual questions raised by Penang families — not assembled from a general catalogue of services.
The families we support are typically adult children with their own professional and family commitments who want their older parents or grandparents to have a settled, sociable day at home. They're not looking to remove their relative from the family home. They want to make that home work better for everyone in it.
Sahabat is based at Jalan Kelawai in George Town, and we serve households across Pulau Pinang. If you'd like to understand whether any of our arrangements would suit your family's situation, we're glad to have that conversation with you — with no pressure and no obligation.
Let's Talk About What Your Family Needs
Reach out for a quiet, no-pressure conversation about whether Sahabat is the right fit for your household.
Arrange a Conversation