KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- He may have lost one of his arm in an
accident 11 years ago, but his will power and determination to excel in sports,
had somehow grew stronger than ever.
In 2005, Mohd Sabki Arifin, 30, even managed to swim a length of 6.5
kilometres to win the gold medal in the men''s closed category of the
Kapas-Marang International Swimathon.
"Next year, I will challenge myself by participating in the para-cycling
category of the Asian Cycling Championship," he told reporters after being
awarded with the Person with Disabilities (OKU) Award For Excellence in Sports
in conjunction with the Federal Territories-level OKU Day celebration today.
The father of a three-year-old girl said the undivided support from his
family was the main factor for him to stay strong in facing life challenges and
continue his love for sports, especially swimming, cycling and sprint.
Meanwhile, Ho Koon Wei, 48, from Batu Pahat, Johor, who received the OKU
Award For Excellence in Education, said her disability had been her strength in
creating her own success stories.
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OKU-AWARD 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
Looking up to her mother as her role model, Ho said the support from her
family had also encouraged her to pursue her studies to the highest level
possible.
"Despite our disabilities, we must have the willpower to improve ourselves,
to face the challenges. That is why I went abroad to pursue my studies," said
the woman who graduated with both the Bachelor''s and the Master''s degrees from
Gallaudet University, Washington.
Ho, who was born with hearing disability, is now pursuing her doctorate in
sign language at Universiti Malaya.
Meanwhile, Federal Territories Social Welfare Department (JKM) director
Noormah Abdul Rauf said that the government had allocated RM3.4 million for nine
non-governmental organisations in the Federal Territories to implement various
programmes for the OKU.
"The allocation and the organising of the annual OKU Day also showed the
government''s concern in ensuring that the OKU would be able to benefit and not
being left out from the country''s mainstream development," she told reporters
after opening the celebration here.
-- BERNAMA
NMA KHY NHA
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