(Top) Kher Lee having fun with his father Walter at the Chung Ling High School field in Penang. — Photos: CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
A CHILDHOOD friend of mine is finally all smiles again, in contrast to the forlorn figure he cut several months earlier.
This is after he and his family watched a video of Zy Kher Lee that went viral in cyberspace.
Kher Lee’s message in the video was loud and clear, which made the difference in my friend’s family.
“Everyone have their own life challenges. Mine was being born like this. If I can overcome this challenge, then you can overcome anything, ” he said in the clip.
Oh, by the way, who is Kher Lee actually?
This 14-year-old was born with half a right arm, no right leg and malformed left leg with only three toes.
But instead of wallowing in self-pity, he is like a ray of sunshine in the video, spreading positive vibes.
He speaks confidently and most importantly, he is rid of this defeatist mentality.
Kher Lee showing the medals he won at swimming meets.
At his age, he has conquered several mountains in the world with assistance from his father.
But his real strength lies in the water, literally. He is a swimmer who aims to represent Malaysia at the Paralympic Games one day.
There is no stopping him now as he has been winning medals at international and local meets.Coming back to my friend’s problem earlier. He has a daughter, the same age as Kher Lee.
His girl is also a swimmer who has been competing at the national level with plenty of winner’s medals filling up her cabinet.
Early this year, the girl suddenly called it quits, saying the sport was never her real interest.
Clueless and stunned, my friend gave in to her request.
He knew his girl was going through a rebellious stage, and that anything done by force would only worsen the situation.
Last week, my friend said his daughter had intensified her training routine, having just put on her swimsuit again in recent weeks.
It seems, her competitive nature is back and she is full of energy.
And the girl has been talking about Kher Lee’’s video, which my friend believes must have inspired her in turning her life meaningful again.
Clearly, getting a source of inspiration at the right time is vital.
Four years ago, we witnessed how three Paralympians took the nation by storm with their exploits at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Long jumper Abdul Latif Romly, 100m runner Mohd Ridzuan Puzi and shot putter Ziyad Zolkefli were the gold medalists at the Games, and received RM1mil and a monthly allowance of RM5,000 under the Government incentive scheme.
Perhaps the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics is a bit too soon for Kher Lee.
But given time, I believe he can make it big on the international stage, with his strong determination in approaching life.
This Chung Ling High School boy has certainly ticked all the boxes of the school’s 10 commandments referred to as the Article of Faith.
The students are well-disciplined, respectful of elders, sincere, hardworking, courteous, courageous, clean, sociable, optimistic and enterprising.
Oh, by the way, how do I know so much about the school? That’s my alma mater. Ai Wu Zhong Ling! (Love My Chung Ling!)
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