Compiled by SALMA FAIRUS, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
A DISABLED former gang member has put his turbulent, violent past behind him, defying the odds to become a church pastor in Penang, China Press reported.
In his teenage years, Michael Chan, now 50, was a delinquent.
To stop others from bullying him because of his disability, Chan resorted to joining a gang.
“By calling myself a gang member, it felt like I could finally hold my head up high,” he said.
However, Chan’s life drastically changed when he witnessed his gang leader’s fatal injuries during a turf war. It was at that moment he resolved to change his life.
He found his life’s calling after joining a church, and today runs a charity organisation called Persatuan Kebajikan Jiran Baik to help those in need, in addition to leading a church as its pastor.
The organisation provides assistance to those who are victims of domestic abuse or are facing threats from loan sharks; it also serves as a tuition and after-school activity centre.
Chan said he hopes the centre can be a refuge for students who are victims of bullying, adding that they should not resort to joining gangs just because they were bullied.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
