Wheelchair-bound Chan works hard for his money

By STUART MICHAEL
Photos by ART CHEN












Independent: Chan getting off a train at the KLCC LRT station.

EVEN THOUGH the act of begging by underprivileged disabled members of society is generally accepted in this country, wheelchair-bound Chan Ming Lai wants nothing to do with it.

Instead, the 35-year-old resident of the Beautiful Gate Foundation in Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya, is out to prove that disabled people like him are also able to earn a living for themselves.

Chan, who hails from Kelantan, goes out on his motorised wheelchair three times a week to sell handicraft like keychains and souvenirs made by the foundation’s handicapped residents.












No sale: A security guard asking Chan to leave the premises after mistaking him for a beggar.

His favourite spot for selling his wares is the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).

Unfortunately, he was wrongly identified as a beggar in a StarMetro report headlined “Beggars spoiling KLCC's image” on Jan 4.

“I am not a beggar. I sell these items to benefit the disabled people.

This is my bread and butter.

“Some of the money that I make will be given to those who made these handicraft,” he said Chan, who was struck with cerebal palsy just four days after his birth, said he had wanted to be independent and mobile from a young age and never stopped aiming for it.












Dainty souvenirs: Some of the handicraft made by the handicapped that Chan helps to sell.

He received his first motorised wheelchair in 1995 when he came to the Beautiful Gate Foundation. It was also here, after seeing that there were other people worse off than him, that he became motivated to do more for himself and the disabled community.

To sell souvenirs, Chan would ride his motorised wheelchair from the Foundation in Jalan SS2/59 at lunchtime to the Paramount LRT Station. From there, he would take the train to the KLCC LRT station and would only return home at about 10pm.

Chan is such a familiar face that even the ticketing counter personnel and security guards at both ends of the LRT station know him.

Upon arrival at KLCC, he would station himself at a regular spot and display his souvenirs for sale. This routine of his has been going on for the last two years.











Streetwise: Chan manoeuvring his motorised wheelchair on a road in SS2 as he heads towards the Paramount Garden LRT station to board a train to KLCC.

“I want to prove that disabled people can fend for themselves and be independent at the same time,” he said.

He expressed sadness that the disabled were sometimes wrongly perceived as beggars.

“I want to give the public a good image of disabled people. We just want to be accepted as part of society,” he added.

Chan occasionally sells the souvenirs at the SS2 night market on Monday and Thursday.

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/18/central/20070117191102&sec=central