SHAH ALAM: Paralympic gold medallist Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli has always harboured the dream of building a home and giving it to his parents as a symbol of gratitude for raising and inspiring him to become the person he is today.
For many years, the 26-year-old lad told no one of his intention as he was afraid that it might turned out to be an impossible goal to achieve.
After keeping it a secret for some time, Ziyad could finally tell the world that he now has a new home for his 63-year-old father, Zolkefli Othman and mother, Siti Arfah Abd Rashid, 52.
The Selangor-born athlete received RM150,000 and a house worth RM400,000 from the Selangor government, through the state sports council today for winning the gold medal and new world record in the men's shot putt F20 (intellectual disability) final at the Rio Paralympics in Brazil in September.
Ziyad said he would surprise his parents with the gift soon. He said at the moment, his parents had thought that he would be the one moving into the new house since he had just tied the knot with college sweetheart, Zafirah Md Nasir, 25, in Nilai, Negri Sembilan last month.
But Ziyad, the eldest child of four, said he had no one else for the gift in mind but his parents.
"My parents knew of the house and had the idea that I will be keeping it to myself. But this is my surprise to them and I think they will be reading about it in the newspapers.
"I am who I am today all thanks to my parents. They have raised and guided me, a special child, with so much patience, love and perseverance.
"Their determination and patience allowed me to excel in sports and I am forever grateful for that. This is my way of expressing gratitude to them. I want them to move out of our Batu 12, Gombak home and live more comfortably in this new unit.
"Now that I can present them the house, I feel, if anything happens to me in the future, I will be happy that I had already fulfilled that wish for my parents," said Ziyad.
Ziyad said this after the official handing over ceremony during the 'Gen-S Menjunjung Kasih Carnival 2016' held to mark the 71st birthday of Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at Dataran Kemerdekaan.
The incentives were presented by Youth Development, Sports, Cultural and Entrepreneurship Development state exco Amirudin Shari.