ALOR GAJAH: Having been a cobbler for 40 years, Hamzah Hassan, 64, a person with disabilities (PwD), continues to work hard to earn a living by repairing shoes at the Pulau Sebang Bus Stop here.
During his four decades as a cobbler, he had undergone various experiences, but the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was something he could not shake off despite the nation transitioning to the endemic phase.
He said despite being unable to ply his trade at his shop during the pandemic, customers came to his house in Johol to get their shoes repaired.
He said most of his customers were security personnel who needed immediate repairs on their shoes, as nearly all cobblers were shut during the pandemic.
Hamzah said the experience he gained working at a shoe factory enabled him to become a skilled shoemaker.
His cobbler career, however, was disrupted by a road accident in Port Dickson in 1974, when he lost his right leg below the thigh.
"I became a PwD even before I got married. Alhamdulillah, I opened a shoe shop in 1982 at the old Pulau Sebang bus stop and then moved to the new bus stop."
Hamzah said although he now did not have as many customers as he used to, he was grateful to be earning a living in these uncertain times. He said he never considered his prosthetic leg to be a barrier and continued to provide the best service.
