Ahmad A Khairuddin’s ‘ Cityscape’

A group of artists — all autistic — got together and held an exhibition recently to celebrate United Voice’s own building.

A self-advocacy society for people with learning disabilities in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, United Voice (UV) has been around since 1995.

After successfully raising more than RM1 million through various fund-raising events and donations, UV finally managed to purchase their own space this year.

The ground floor is their showroom and training centre where baking classes and craft making workshops are held while the first floor houses an art gallery.

It was in this gallery that the works of Nurul A. Rahman, Tan Seng Kit, Nadiah A. Jalil, Damiem Wong and Ahmad A. Khairuddin were shown.

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Heah Hock Heng passed away on 20 October, 10 days short of his 64 birthday. I first met Heah, in the 80′s, when I just joined the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). He needed volunteers to help do a painting job at the MNS field centre in Cameron Highlands.

Apart from working as a painter I also ended up cutting chillies and onions etc. in the kitchen. Heah was both the project manager as well as the chef at that time. He was already renown then for his work in the field .

My painting was not up to standard and neither was my cutting skills. But that was the beginning of my long friendship with Heah and later with his wife Cheong Ann and some friends from the MNS days.

Heah (standing in the far right) making sure that the lunch for the party was in order, 2007, at KLPac.

Two years ago, I asked Heah and his friends to help cook a lunch for 100 persons. This was a party for a mixed disability group of friends at the KLPac. It was to celebrate the exhibition of photographs of the disabled athletes, which I had done.

Heah was one person who was always willing to help, when he can, no matter what it may be. He also had a distinguished career as a project manager for forest and environment related projects in Malaysia.

Heah with all his friends helping out at the KLPac lunch for the disabled friends, 2007.

But most of all, Heah will be remembered as a chef, for feeding thousands of MUS members ’5 start hotel food’ deep in the Malaysian mountains.

Heah’s funeral will be on Saturday 24 October, 2pm, Trinity Methodist Church, Petaling Jaya.

MARCH 1 – This black-and-white photograph of an artificial right leg without the body is an unusual and intriguing sight.

How many of us have come across this uncommon situation in the mainstream of our normal daily life? Normally, it is usual to meet a person without one or both of their legs but never a leg without the other limb and the rest of the body. Whose leg is this and where is the body? What is it doing there? This is surreal.

Where did this incongruous image come from? This bizarre portrait of a single prosthetic right leg with its shoe on and in a pair of blue jeans, set in a men’s changing room, is now on show at the photographic exhibition “Empathy”.

This is the third collection of my photographs focusing on people with various disabilities going about doing sports and other activities and enjoying their life.

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My exhibition of photos Empathy at KLPac closed on the 8 March. This third collection of images of people with disability doing their own thing in sports and in work, was on display for 7 weeks. During that time there were several write ups about the exhibition and one of the portraits of Siti Aishah made it to the front page of the Sunday People in the NST’s Sunday Times.

This media coverage of the disabled group gave all those people in this small and fragile community a much needed visual profile which they seldom get. The Star newspaper’s writer Tan Karr Wei also wrote about the portraitures with understanding.

Then there was Elaine Lau from the Option of the Edge who also gave a voice to this often voiceless fellow citizens. Ng Suzhen from the Malay Mail was the first to put this story in her CyberSpot page. The Chinese press too especially the writer Chee Nyuk Yan from Nanyang Siang Pau gave this group a center spread in their Sunday edition and this was followed by Sin Chew Daily‘s reporter Ten Yien Hsia’s news of the event. I was also invited to talk about the exhibition on TV3′s Malaysia Hari Ini morning magazine show.

After all the effort of first going out to get the cooperation of all my disabled friends to allow me to photograph them, and then to mount and promote the visibility of the subject to a larger public, it had dawn on me that this project of promoting a little more empathy for others, has been all a group effort by everyone who has been involved. This is also a note of thanks to all of you. Now I am beginning to understand.

Yaakob Saad and his family come to our party, though he and his wife are blind, their four children are born normal and healthy like the rest of us. Their children are now their parents’ eyes.

Godfrey and Yaakob, two blind old musical friends meeting at the party after many years

Carol telling us a little about herself and how much she likes to live an independent life.

Thanks to H L Lee for sharing his photos of last Saturday’s party at KLPac. There were many new friends to the gathering this year and among them a few old friends were meeting again after many years.

Peter Tan was happy with the portrait I did of him at the Sentral Train Terminal in Kuala Lumpur. On that day that I took his picture he and some of his friends were there testing out the various facilities to measure their disable friendliness for persons like him.

Part of the group of people at the Saturday party, doing their own thing, having lunch or talking with some friends etc.

On the right, Wairah was showing some of the artworks done by her daughter Nurul. Next, Jenny Tan was also  showing works of her son Seng Kit to all those at the party.

My friends, from the left, Charlie, Chong and Carmen, who drought the mandarin oranges, all came to give us some help with the party.

To arrange a social gathering like this  I needed a lot of help from my friends and many of them came to help and to join in the fun and the friendship.

Nala, far left, conducting a game for some of the people who came to the party at KLpac.

The MAB Blind harmonica group playing some music for the gathering

From right, Peter Tan, Christine Lee, Wuan & friend having lunch

This party, last Saturday, in conjunction with my photographic exhibition at the KLPac, was part of the celebration of understanding over ignorance of the others in our midst. We invited about 100 persons from a few different disabled groups, young and old, in the Kuala Lumpur area, to this social gathering. There was music, food, games, walks, a tour of the KLPac complex and lots of conversations and exchanges among the various groups.

Some of them are meeting new friends for the first time and many others are meeting for the second time since last year when I had an exhibition of my second collection and also had a party like this. In many way it was enlightening experience for everyone to meet so many different sorts and shapes of friends in one room.

And there were many friends who helped us make this gathering a success.

From left, Numpueng (my wife) and our dear friend May and her family who helped out with the food and drinks and all the other goodies, especially the delicious cup cakes, for that day.

From left, Numpueng, Jesmine, Victor, Azlan A Azlzee and his two children help out with the setting up and getting the party started.

A view of the exhibition with some visitors

Justin Hughes visiting

Lee Hong Leng taking a closer look

This exhibition has been on for a few weeks and it had many visitors. Justin Hughes, an old friend from the 80s, was one of the first visitors.  He was in Kuala Lumpur for a short visit after attending an International Law conference in Singapore. Justin is currently a Law Professor in New York.

Lee, a fellow photographer and partner of a photographic lab that printed all my prints, was also at the show to share his experiences about photography. It has been his continuing support and encouragement, over the years, that has made it possible to continue this social documentary project.

This is my new photographic exhibition starting this week at KLPac. It is an on going project documenting the ways of life of this small community. This exhibition hopes to lend a voice, a visual profile, to them which is often absent in the mainstream of our concerns and interests.

Peter Tan at a public phone booth. Recently he and some of his friends were checking out public accessibility facilities at the Sentral Station in Kuala Lumpur.

Peter and his wife Wuan

Peter and Wuan are keen photographers

Recently, my friend, Peter Tan, has transplanted my wordpress blog into this domain site. He was the one who give me the domain name, victorchin.com, as a present, when it became available. We first met each other, earlier in the year, when he came to the Sunday party I organised at the KLPac, where I was showing my collection of photographs of the disabled athletes.

He is a well known blogger for the disabled community advocating for better public accessibility for the disabled, the elderly and the rest of the populace who might one day need the facilities. Yes, anyone of us may one day need to be a wheelchair user or not be able able to see but needs to move around independently.

We have been meeting many times, often at his home or at shopping malls, and coincidentally he too has mentioned my name in his latest blog today. We seemed to have a special link.

Reading his blog, one finds him with many talents and skills and web design and related matters is what he does best. He works independently from his home in Kuala Lumpur. Please contact Peter, if you need web page solutions.