Little person stands tall and strong in facing the world

BY : Patrick Beech

Life is a precious gift and for little person, Mohd Afiq Fikri Firdaus Ibrahim, he remains grateful that he has been blessed with good health and a loving family.

He has never let his physical limitations get the better of him and the 38-year-old strives to provide a good life for his wife, Farihah Abd Ghani, 38 and their two children.

Aufa Fakhriya, 8, and Muhammad Arfan, 13, are also little persons.

Little persons are those with a height of less than 142cm for men and 138cm for women.

"Physically, we are different and unique. We are not like the rest, but God has blessed us with love and good health.

"It cannot be denied that life as a Person with Disabilities (PwD), can sometimes be a little hard, but we persevere and get on with our lives by having a strong mentality and psychological strength to overcome life's hurdles," he said.

Mohd Afiq, who hails from Bachok, Kelantan, said that from a young age, he was exposed to interacting and mingling with society so he was never shy or felt awkward in making friends and had inculcated the determination to do so for his children.

He said parents with PwD (Persons with Disabilities) children must try not to be overprotective of their children but instead give them space to interact and mingle with society.

His wife was a civil servant, while he runs a small business selling fishing equipment and accessories at locations where there were fishing competitions in and around the East Coast state.

His elder son is currently studying at a Mahad Tahfiz school in the district while his younger child is a Year 2 pupil.