IPOH: BEING visually impaired has not held back Mohd Firdaus Mohd Nor, 33, from Manjoi, from working hard to achieve his dreams.
Firdaus said he had never seen his disability as an excuse not to excel in life.
He is a proud entrepreneur of the Char Kuey Teow Lagend stall in Manjoi, Ipoh, for the past two years.
“When I was 4, I fell into a drain at my parents’ house. At that time, my parents were busy working so they did not bring me to consult any specialist.
“They thought there was no need to worry about the fall as my eyesight was not affected then. I remembered that I only started wearing spectacles when I was 8 years old,” Firdaus said.
However, his eyesight started to worsen when he was 14. When he turned 21, after many visits to doctors, he discovered that his eyes’ veins were damaged and his condition was categorised under “blind B2” as his vision was blurry.
It was hard for him to accept the news as he was about to enter the workforce.
“I was down at that time and kept thinking what could I do to earn a living. It was my late mother, Jamaliah Mohd, who persuaded me to register as a person with disabilities (OKU) in 2003 and I was among the first batch of OKUs registered after it was announced,” Firdaus said, adding that he was given an allowance of RM200.
He then decided to register with the Society of the Blind Malaysia’s Perak branch as a member.
Its chairman, Idris Hashim, lived nearby and he explained that Firdaus would benefit as a SBM member.
Firdaus furthered his studies by enrolling for a diploma in hotel and catering at Kris Institute.
He did practical training at Damai Laut Resort for three months where he later applied to be a cook in 2003.
Firdaus always had an interest in cooking and helped his mother prepare nasi lemak that she would sell in her neighbourhood.
With years of experience as a cook in hotels and resorts in Pulau Pangkor, Lumut and Teluk Batik, he decided to resign and return to his parents’ home in Manjoi.
But when Firdaus returned to his hometown in October 2013, his
efforts to secure a job were unsuccessful as hotel operators were sceptical of his skills and rejected him during interviews.
The following year, a canteen operator at SJK (T) Taman Meru offered Firdaus work there and was impressed with his skills.
Firdaus then decided to set up a stall in front of his house to sell kway teow kerang on a part-time basis in the evening for extra income.
The char kway teow paste was a recipe from a friend identified only as Edi and they were partners until Edi joined the police force.
“I planned to apply for the Skim Bantuan Galakan Perniagaan-OKU offered by the Labour Department as I was made to understand that I have to have an existing business registered under my name and employ another OKU to work with me.”
This scheme, which was introduced in 2007 was an effort to help OKU in the job market.