KUALA TERENGGANU: A little person from Kampung Losong Masjid here has not let his physical limitations get the better of him.
Instead, he sees life as a precious gift and is grateful for being blessed with a loving family.
Little persons are those with a height of less than 142cm for men and 138cm for women.
Mohd Afiq Fikri Firdaus Ibrahim, 38, counts his blessing when he found his soulmate and wife, Farihah Abd Ghani, 38. His wife and two children, Aufa Fakhriya, 8, and Muhammad Arfan, 13, are also little people.
"Physically, we are different and unique. We are not like the rest, but Alhamdulillah, God has blessed us with love and good health.
"It cannot be denied that life as a Person with Disabilities (PwD), we get ridiculed, scorned and bullied even, but we persevere and get on with our lives by having a strong mentality and psychological strength to overcome life's hurdles.
"Life can be quite hard and difficult sometimes, but we get through it all by being tenacious. We must, we have to, as we are a PwD family," said Mohd Afiq who is a former national paralympic footballer.
Mohd Afiq, who hails from Bachok, Kelantan, said that he had become immune to insults and ridiculing, though he chose to become a better person by ignoring and not retaliating because for him, no one was perfect.
He said that from a young age he was exposed to interacting and mingling around with the society so he was never shy or felt awkward in making friends and had inculcated the determination to do so for his children.
Mohd Afiq said that 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.
"Indirectly, children or family members will be able to adapt and assimilate themselves in society and be marginalised.
"For me, I always try to think positively especially when we people start to stare at us," he said.
Sharing more about his life, Mohd Afiq said while his wife was a civil servant, he ran 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.
"When the four of us sit down, we are almost at the same height and this always makes people stare and gawk at us.
"I accept what Allah has given us. I also appeal to everyone to be kind to one another. Please don't make fun of or humiliate those who are handicapped," he said
