Former Para-athlete Sells Fire Extinguishers To Earn An Honest Living

Former para-athlete sells fire extinguishers

Life for a disabled person can be incredibly challenging. They have to work harder than able-bodied individuals if they want to earn an income and live independently. Take for example this OKU man in Taiping, who makes a living for himself by selling and delivering fire extinguishers on his motorcycle.

After catching the attention of popular philanthropist Uncle Kentang, he was offered a new motorcycle from a kind donor so he could continue to make deliveries as his previous one was no longer able to work.

Lives independently to earn a living

Image credit: Uncle Kentang

Kuan Chee Heng, also known as Uncle Kentang, posted about the plight of the former national para-athlete, Mr Mogan, on his Facebook account on 27th March 2022.

The 48-year-old Paralympiad athlete had undergone amputation on both his legs during his youth due to an unstated illness. Nevertheless, he had a number of wins under his belt from local sporting events, including a gold medal from Majlis Paralympic Malaysia, and gold and silver medals at the 2002 Paralimpiad Kuala Lumpur.

It is understood that the Malaysian Paralympiad has now changed its name to Para Sukma Games.

Image credit: Uncle Kentang

Presently residing in Taiping, Mogan has been divorced since 2002 and does not have any children of his own. He used to live with his sister, but she has unfortunately passed away.

Hopes to continue with his small business

In the post, Uncle Kentang also wrote that Mogan was able to obtain some funding from Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia (JKM) for a pair of prosthetic limbs, which has helped him gain independence and enabled him to earn an income for himself.

Image credit: Uncle Kentang

In an unfortunate turn of events, however, the donated secondhand motorcycle he has been relying on all this while to make deliveries to customers, broke down beyond repair.

Given the circumstances, Mr Mogan had to rely on taxi services for a time to make his deliveries.

He’s able to earn about RM800-RM1,000 a month selling fire extinguishers. With additional financial aid from JKM totalling RM450, he is just able to cover his monthly rent, bills and living expenses.

Image credit: Kuan Chee Heng

To cap off his Facebook post, Uncle Kentang mentioned that he had offered to purchase Mr Mogan another secondhand motorcycle so he could modify it for his convenience.

Showing just how kind Malaysians can be, a generous man in Penang took notice of Uncle Kentang’s post and has stepped in to pay for Mr Mogan’s new motorcycle, which he intends to modify to better suit his specific needs.

The philanthropist also urged Taiping residents to support Mr Mogan’s fire extinguisher business. You may contact him at 016-482 3583, or consider sending a donation here:

Name: Mogan a/l Subramaniam
Bank: Maybank
Account number: 558051356990

Helping those with special needs

As much as people with disabilities seek to live independently and earn their own livelihood, we are sure they would be deeply grateful for any form of assistance and kindness extended to them.

We applaud Uncle Kentang and the kind donor for looking out for struggling citizens, and for making their stories heard.