A step closer to his dream
Fencer hopes to be Paralympic athlete after receiving prosthetic limb
GEORGE TOWN: A teenager is one step closer to achieving his dream of being a full-time Paralympic sportsman after receiving a prosthetic limb.
State wheelchair fencing exponent Muhammad Afiq Muhammad Shukri, 19, had his left leg amputated when he was in Form Five after battling bone cancer.
“I was diagnosed with bone cancer when I was 13 and had my leg amputated when I was 17. Thankfully, I am cancer-free now,” he said.
He voiced his delight at getting the prosthetic limb.
“It will be easier for me to move around without crutches. And it will make it easier for me to practise fencing,” he said during the Prosthetic Limb, Wheelchair and Hearing Aid Project presentation ceremony here on Saturday.
Afiq said he had always loved sports.
“I was a runner in school when I was younger. Due to my disability, I can no longer run and decided to take up fencing in December last year,” he said.
Afiq, who was the youngest recipient at the ceremony, said he had been working as a lift cleaner for the past eight months to generate income for himself.
“I am the eldest of four siblings and I decided to take up the job to lessen my parents’ burden,” he said, adding that he earned around RM1,300 a month.
Meanwhile, housewife Chuah Ang Thoe, 68, said she was happy that her 41-year-old son Wong Khang Wei, who had his leg amputated in June last year, could finally look for a job now.
“My son had a stroke five years ago and had his leg amputated due to an infection,” she said.
The disability meant that he had to give up his work as a supervisor at his company.
“With the prosthetic limb, he can slowly start to walk without support and look for a job to support his wife and three-year-old son,” she said.
Project chairman Rayson Khoo said over 60 artificial limbs were presented to deserving and needy people who had lost their limbs in accidents, sickness or had no limbs at birth.
“The recipients are from various age groups. The target group is the hardcore poor recommended by government hospitals and NGOs,” he said.
Khoo said that each artificial limb cost about RM8,000 to RM15,000 at commercial rates.
“The total cost of five prosthetic limbs, 11 lightweight wheelchairs and one hearing aid is RM400,000,” he said, adding that the project was undertaken by the Lions Club of Penang.
Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng said the state government had been looking at ways to make the city more accessible to the disabled community.
“Almost all pavements now have tiles that can guide the blind, while all public facilities are equipped with ramps to aid those who need a wheelchair to move around,” he said in his speech.