Thursday February 2, 2012

Quietude amid the revelry

Festive occasions are a good time to reflect on what’s important in life.

LAST week’s Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations may have gone down as one of the noisiest and most spectacular occasions for many in recent times. There was no way of snuffing out the flamboyance and magic of the fire-breathing Black Water Dragon even for those who chose to spend the occasion away from the usual revelry.

Retired audio technician Francis Chan from Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, was one of them. Chan, 64, decided to get away from it all and spend the holidays at his sister’s home in Pekan Nanas in Pontian, Johor. His 73-year-old sister is the only surviving member among his five siblings.

“There is plenty of peace and tranquillity in Pekan Nanas compared to the much faster pace in KL,” relates Francis, who became blind nearly 30 years ago. “But unlike in Brickfields, the residents in this sleepy pineapple town have much to learn about the blind. The few people that I met and talked to treated me as if I was an alien. When they saw me using my mobile, they thought I was bluffing when I told them I am blind.”

Chan discovered that the blind in Pekan Nanas are hardly seen in public; most of them spend their time at home.

“This attitude needs to be changed through counselling which can best be offered by NGOs working with the blind,” says Chan who works part-time as a masseur.

M. Murugan, 31, from Rasah Jaya in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, had a most unusual CNY this year. Instead of joining his handicapped friends in visiting open houses in Rawang, Selangor, he decided to stay behind at the training centre for the disabled to look after the place.

Murugan, who became a paraplegic following a motorcycle accident in 2010, enrolled at the centre last November. He was at a loss as to how to continue his new life in a wheelchair. He joined the disabled centre because he wanted to meet others who are in a similar situation.

Murugan said the quiet time he spent during the holidays helped him greatly. It gave him time to think about what’s important in life. Now he has the confidence to face the challenges ahead.

Murugan recalled his nightmare two years ago when he woke up in the hospital bed to find both his legs amputated. Now he has comes to terms with his disability. “Life goes on even if you are in a wheelchair!” Murugan adds.

For seasoned wheelchair-user Chong Tuck Meng, there is so much more that needs to be done by the relevant authorities for the disabled community in the country. Chong, 50, who hails from Bentong in Pahang, feels that the disabled should be part and parcel of any festive celebration.

“Always be prepared to go the extra mile,” urges Chong, who is president of five NGOs working for the handicapped. Quite an accomplishment, considering that Chong is unable to feed or dress himself as he is paralysed from the neck down following a motorcycle accident three decades ago.

Chong reminds those who invite the disabled to functions, to look into their transportation needs.

Born in the Year of the Ox, Chong says he is taking the opportunity of the Dragon’s irrepressible and free spirit to champion and speak up more for the rights and concerns of the disabled over the next 12 months.

“Society needs to be reminded that people with disabilities are part of the community. The disabled should be our chief concern and we should lend them a helping hand. We must never forget that one day, we could very well become disabled, too!” Chong adds.