Compiled by DIYANA PFORDTEN, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
A WOMAN born without her left eye has learnt to embrace her condition, viewing it as a blessing rather than a limitation.
“I consider this a blessing from God. Otherwise, I might not be any different from other people,” Nur Fadhilah Rahmat, 21, told Harian Metro.
Nur Fadhilah, who is the eldest of two siblings, had undergone three surgeries, the last when she was nine.
She lives in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, and works in the administration department of a prosthetics company.
“There was no discrimination (in hiring me). My employer has a disability, too,” she said.
Nur Fadhilah acknowledged that there was a time when she felt inferior.
“But I have since accepted my fate. Each time I step out of the house, I do not think about what’s lacking in me,” she said.
“If someone stares at me, I would just smile.”
She said she is grateful for her family and a career.
“I have no reason not to be grateful. It’s okay to cry, but don’t dwell on it for too long or lose hope. You have to pick yourself up and carry on with life.”
In the early days, she said that she would question why she was not like everyone else.
“But my family encouraged me to accept myself,” she said.
> A couple showed resilience by tightening their belt and saving up for their wedding instead of getting a bank loan to cover the expenses, Kosmo! reported.
“We saved a little from our salaries at a time. We even handled some of the preparations ourselves to reduce costs,” said construction site supervisor Mohamad Badrul Amin Ashuri, 30.
“The solemnisation and wedding reception in Terengganu in May cost RM42,000. And we allocated RM27,000 for the reception in Johor.”
Among the major expenses, he said, were the purchase of two cows, catering food for 2,500 guests and the wedding gift.
Badrul Amin and Nurul Atiqah Farhanah Mohd Zaidi, 27, had held their solemnisation and wedding reception in Terengganu, as well as a reception in Johor last month.
“My wife and I agreed from the beginning that we would not take a bank loan,” he said, adding that they started to save well before their engagement.
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.
