MP IN TWITTER ROW HELPS CAR OWNER
Fahmi helps man get eye surgery after his photo of the latter’s wrecked car was misread
LEMBAH Pantai member of parliament Fahmi Fadzil, who received backlash over his Twitter comment about a run-down car last month, has gone one step further with his apology.
He reached out to the owner of the badlydamaged car, Yap Chi Hoe, 39, and arranged the treatment for his eye ailment at Pantai Hospital here.
In recalling what happened since his tweet on Sept 8, Fahmi said he posted on Twitter a photo of Yap’s car, along with a comment that was misread as him making fun of its condition.
“Some people took advantage of the situation by saying that they knew the car’s owner and that I was belittling the lowincome group.
“At that time, I apologised to avoid polemics on social media. I thought if the car’s owner needed my help, then I should approach him.”
Fahmi met Yap and heard the true story behind his predicament.
“His name is Yap Chi Hoe. He’s 39 and lives in Klang. His parents have died. Mr Yap works as a lorry driver (not a Grab driver, as some people claimed) and loves animals.”
Yap told Fahmi that a lorry rammed the rear of his Proton Wira while he was driving on a highway on Sept 8.
“He was waiting for a tow truck, but because he wanted to keep to an appointment, he continued driving the wrecked car.”
He said Yap had an illness that could cause total loss of sight.
Fahmi sought help from the management of Pantai Hospital here to help Yap.
The hospital helped him as part of its corporate social responsibility. Doctors diagnosed Yap with chronic retinal detachment on one eye and said he needed to undergo a laser procedure on the other. Yap underwent surgery on Tuesday.
At a press conference yesterday, Fahmi said it took him some time to find Yap.
“It took six weeks to locate Mr Yap, but Alhamdulillah, with the help of our friends from Pantai Hospital KL, we helped him. I hope we have brought him justice and helped him lead a better life.”
Ophthalmologist Dr Manoharan Shunmugam, who performed the surgery on Yap, said the latter’s condition was increasingly common among Malaysians.
“Lots of people in Malaysia are driving around with poor vision.”
He said he had made recommendations on minimum vision standards to the Road Transport Department, but did not get any response.
“People over 40 should get their eyes tested every year.”