Blind Project

Books-For-A-Cause™

Lessons in Philosophy and Religion - Professor Dr. Makmor Tumin

03 January 2024 , Wednesday -

Being Blind

One of the things that people with disability (PwD) worry about in life is securing a job. I Thank God Almighty, as in 1997, at the age of 29, I was accepted as a lecturer in Universiti Malaya. Originating from Johor Bharu and then moving to Kuala Lumpur, I studied at the university for my first degree up until the PhD level. I have been working in this university ever since, for a total of 26 years and counting. During the late 2022, I was promoted to a professor. On the following year, I was honoured with the Universiti Malaya Excellent Lecturer Award. Although my retirement age is within the next three years (at the age of 60) in 2027, I think that age is just a number. After all, these days, many over 90 are still well and active.

I began to have problems with my eyesight at the age of 11, and so sudden and drastically, at the age of 13, I was no longer able to read printed materials. My family decided that I had to stop going to school, which led to me not going to school for more than a year. Only at the age of 16 (in 1983) was I enrolled at a special school for the blind in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa for both eyes, however it has been my motivation to continue studying the moment I was enrolled to the school for the blind. From there, I went to Methodist Boy’s School in Kuala Lumpur before joining Universiti Malaya for my first, second and third level of degree. Studying at the university level proved to be challenging. However, the ecosystem was great. I had very excellent lecturers and volunteers (who we call readers) who were more than willing to help me pursue knowledge in my studies. The facilities provided to PwDs (for both students and staffs) by Universiti Malaya were and still are equally excellent.

Joining as a teaching staff in 1997 was both interesting and challenging. Although I did not choose myself to be blind, I must also admit that I did not do anything to be granted a very friendly and inclusive ecosystem in Universiti Malaya. After all, being born in this country is part of my luck. I did not choose myself to be born in Malaysia, in which the awareness of PwD rights is far better compared to some other countries. All are arbitrary from the moral point of view.

I must also state that in addition to being blind, I also have a kidney issue and had undergone transplantation twice. The first transplantation was back in 1994, when my brother donated his kidney, and as the graft failed 20 years later, in 2014, my wife then proceeded to donate her kidney to me. Nonetheless, suffice to say that having lost my eyesight and living as a two-time kidney transplant patient, yet surviving with my current achievements, have made me humble to the Almighty God. I owe a huge thanks to all those who contributed in one way or another, which continued to motivate me to make me who I am now.

Although in the next three years (2027) my retirement age will certainly come, I am not really looking forward to it. I have started strategizing to make myself available and of use even after reaching my 60s. I have started contacting several institutions (local and abroad) to tell them of my interest in providing services, presenting my enthusiasm and qualification. I have also started to discuss with various book publishing industries on how I could get involved actively with them, and praise be to God, some of the publishers have already given me the opportunity to publish my works.

I have never really had any ambition in joining politics or whatnot, but I believe that being a Senator for this country one day will give me a good platform for me to represent the interest of the PwDs as well as those who suffer from kidney problems. I have made the decision to not wait until retirement to expand my services. If they are not provided to larger communities, at the very least I would like to support the community of PwDs. In 2021, I proposed the idea of increasing the profile of PwDs by coming up with a magazine, and as of now, we are realising the fourth publication of the magazine (known as the Mainstreamer e-Magazine), of which I am the Editor-In-Chief. I am currently the executive board member of Aun-DPPnet (financially supported by The Nippon Foundation of Japan) until December 2024. With this position, I believe that I can contribute a lot to the PwD community for this country and abroad.

Knowing that employability is a prevalent issue for the PwDs (job security is one of the things PwDs including myself worry most in our life), I have started to ponder upon establishing a private employment agency for PwDs at the ASEAN level.  

Why is the Agency Crucial?

Nowadays, people are more efficient working from home. This opportunity must be utilized by the PwDs. It is very much true that many governments have come up with the policy of a 1% quota for PwDs employment. However, achieving it is far from reality. One can understand both the sentiment and argument of why industries or even the public sectors are quite hesitant, if not reluctant, to employ PwDs. One of the reasons is that they have no way to verify whether the applicant is actually capable of performing the tasks.

The number of those who are looking for a job is certainly very huge, yet the demand for them is very low. To avoid PwD employees turning out to be liabilities rather than assets for the agencies, it is very important to train the potential employees, both mentally and professionally. These agencies will play the role in training them, while at the same time act as centres for employers to recruit them. I am sure that there are many people who have looked for PwDs who can work for their agencies, both for manual and executive jobs, but their good intentions are denied just because they do not know how to outsource the right person to employ them. These agencies are started by government funds. However, it is within my aim that at least after 10 years, they would still be able to stand on their own, just like other employment agencies. It is equally important that the agencies are allowed to be run by the PwDs themselves.

I do not think that I should let my knowledge and skills be wasted, so long that my brain is still normally functioning. I certainly would like to continue to venture in the path of knowledge of which my academic career has brought me, even past the age of 60, just like many others who are still active even past 80. I am now also embarking on serious research on religion and philosophy, and I suppose it is natural for some to do such as they get older. It is very important for me to upskill myself, especially since I had started working as an academic staff since more than 20 years ago. The introduction of the digital world proved to be a struggle to me at first, as the rise of tools and technologies were challenging for me to comprehend as a blind person, but through support from my friends and families, I have utilized these tools to my advantage. I hope that as I get to the age of 60, I will either be given a contract to continue my service in the same institution or be employed by another institution based on my capacity and ability.

I would like to thank my parents whose prayers still strongly linger in my mind and heart, though they have long passed. I would also like to thank my school, especially the blind school in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, and my university, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, the agency of which I pursued my higher-level studies, and the institution that gave me the opportunity to work on becoming a serious academician. 

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