Despite physical setbacks, these Malaysians prove that perseverance pays

Nor Zaidah says you need to give it your 300%; 100% per cent is just not enough. — Photos: Say Lead Pro 2023

SOME time in 2011, Nor Zaidah Ab Rahman stared blankly at the ceiling from her bed, where she had laid for the past year after a road accident with a trailer left her bedridden. And then, she says, the questions appeared, one by one.

“Is this how I want to spend my life?”

“Do I need people to look after me my entire life?”

“What is the future like for my children?”

Now 47, Nor Zaidah, from Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan, says she didn’t have the answers then, but she knew that she had to do something to get herself out of bed. Slowly, she began to move more until she could lift her body onto a wheelchair and care for herself.

“I started thinking outside the box and fought 300% harder to stand on my own two feet again, even though the doctors said I might not be able to walk,” she adds.

Nor Zaidah says she went through 13 surgeries, seven metal implant procedures and a vein bypass to treat the comminuted fractures. She was eventually able to move around on a wheelchair. Then, she took a strategic business decision to close her restaurant and focus on her tailoring business. But she didn’t know that another mishap would hit her.

“In April 2014, my shop was razed by fire and I lost everything I had built for years. I lost my source of income. My morale took a nosedive. I literally felt like I was being buried alive,” she adds.

Heart afire

“Thank God my spirit did not die with the shop. With the assistance from the Social Welfare Department (JKM) I looked for a new location and started another tailoring business one year after the fire,” says Nor Zaidah.

Thanks to pre-Covid-19 thriving economy, she managed to repay JKM the RM2,700 grant from the 2 Years Exit Programme (2YEP) and RM450 Disability Worker Allowance in just two years after starting her new venture. “Now, after eight years in operations, my business has an average gross income of RM100,000 to RM150,000 annually,” says Nor Zaidah, who now stands on her legs – 6.4cm shorter – with a bent spine.

Under the Zai Collection label, her business produces batik items and tanjak, a traditional and ceremonial Malay male headgear, made of folded cloth. Two of her children helped to expand her business to Nilai and Kempas in Johor. “You need to get all the support, have the right business mindset and spirit, and follow the advice of the departments and agencies. Most importantly, you need to give it your 300%; 100% is just not enough,” Nor Zaidah says.

Her hard work and perseverance led to her being named winner of the Malaysian Disabled Entrepreneurs League (Say Lead Pro 2023), organised by the Selangor Youth Community (Say) last month.

Say Lead Pro is one of two initiatives under Entrepreneurship Selangor run by Selangor Youth Community (Say), a non-profit organisation founded by the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah in 2017. It aims to improve financial standing of persons with disabilities (PWD) through the ability to generate a stable income via business.

Knit away

Say Lead Pro 2023 runner-up is Lailatol Mawar Mohd Noh, 47, who runs her own tote bag business. Seven years ago, she was involved in a three-vehicle accident that left her right leg with a crushed femur and her knee and hip, badly injured. “I was sad and depressed as I couldn’t walk like I used to. I had to learn how to walk with walking aids, from a walking frame to underarm crutches and finally, a cane.

Lailatol Mawar was the second place winner for the Say Lead Pro 2023.

“Still, I couldn’t walk far, nor stand for a long time. My right leg is shorter and I need special shoes to balance both legs,” says Lailatol Mawar.

Just when she thought she could get used to her new condition, life dropped another bombshell. “In July 2018, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Sad was an understatement,” she says. She underwent treatment – a hysterectomy, followed by 27 radiotherapy sessions. Her mental well-being, however, didn’t get any better.

“The doctors advised me to take care of my thoughts and food to curb the cancer cells from growing. So I shifted my focus and energy to do things that made me happy. I started knitting,” says Lailatol Mawar, who hails from Kuala Lumpur. Her efforts bore fruits. Her doctors liked the hats she knitted, and she went further and started sewing tote bags.

“Encouraged by the good response, I decided to go into the business seriously. It was like life had given me a new purpose; I felt stronger and more confident,” she adds.

With a RM3,000 fund and guidance from the Say Lead Pro programme, Lailatol Mawar built her creative craft business under the Lyla Rose label. Although still considerably new, Lyla Rose premium batik tote bags are available in Central Market and Starhill Gallery. “In a year or two, I want to open a creative sewing centre to train underprivileged persons to be skilled workers to produce high quality craft products,” she says.

Blooming scent

When it comes to overcoming disabilities, patience and support go a long way, says Nur Zakiah Dzulkifli, 38, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was only 10 years old. “It was extremely difficult for me to accept the fact that I wouldn’t have the life others have. I had to drop out of school and I couldn’t walk and play like other kids. I just stayed in bed for several years,” she says.

Nur Zakiah says PWDs need to beat the odds and prove that they are worthy, just like others.

The disease injured all her joints which limited her movements. Nor Zakiah had to undergo several artificial joint implant surgeries. “After numerous surgeries, I slowly recovered at the age of 22. That was when I decided to get out of the confined life and be financially independent,” she says.

She left home to study, but only after her stint at a mobile phone shop, her interest in entrepreneurship began. “I asked my sister to be my business partner and since we both liked perfumes, we decided to venture into the perfume business,” Nur Zakiah says.

With a capital of RM3,000, the two sisters started buying perfumes from a supplier and rebranded them as ClassicRed Perfume. “It’s not easy to compete with others who are healthy and educated, and the public’s lack of confidence in our abilities makes it even harder,” she adds. But Nur Zakiah, who moves around on a wheelchair, beats the odds. Her business blooms and now, not only is her ClassicRed Perfume widely available in Malaysia, it has also hit the shelves of more than 15 points-of-sale in Singapore. “Our sales now reach RM30,000 a month,” she adds.

Meanwhile, for Beh Miao Qing, 25, who was born with Asperger’s syndrome, family support has helped him start his grocery store business. When he had difficulty landing a job after graduating from college, his parents decided to help by loaning him RM5,000. Three years ago, Beh managed to get a hawker licence and a Companies Commission Malaysia (SSM) registered business.

Beh with his mother Carol.

“With that loan, I opened a grocery store at Damansara Jaya Hawker Centre,” Beh says, adding that his mother, Carol Ching, helps manage the store. Today, Beh says he earns more than RM5,000 a month.

By overcoming their physical obstacles through sheer will and resilience, these individuals are proof that with determination and the right support, the doors to financial success will open and that dreams can come true, despite disabilities.