Feature: Overcoming adversity through friendship, hard work

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- From a small workshop on the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, Mohamad Hafiz Johari works with wood, metal and basic tools to build custom furniture pieces.

Having no formal training in carpentry, welding or woodwork, the 35-year-old carefully measures out his materials and puts together shelves and tables constructed to an "industrial style", having left behind his former profession as a photographer in a Malaysian newspaper.