PETALING JAYA, Feb 28 — Compared to most people, Zhariff Afandi, 34, is an overachiever.
If he had a bucket list, he would have already ticked off many feats before turning 30.
Besides starting his own social venture company, The Zhariff Initiative, he has taken part in extreme sports like body boarding, scuba diving and cable surfing.
He has also completed an 85km trail-running challenge and finished a 6.5km swimathon three times.
And he did all this with no hands, literally.
Zhariff was born without arms but it has never stopped him from striving for his full potential.
“I am not disabled nor different from anyone else. Everyone is dealt their own deck of cards, I have never seen mine as a limitation. In fact, it is my strength,” said the Selangor-born entrepreneur, who is also chief executive officer of Gemilang Usahawan, and ambassador for Unicef and IM4U.
While rubbing shoulders with the likes of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Zhariff helped to design the founding mechanics of Najib's brainchild, IM4U, a non-profit organisation that helps to nurture and cultivate volunteerism among Malaysian youths.
Recently, Zhariff also met Bandung mayor Mochamad Ridwan Kamil, to discuss possibilities of reaching out to Indonesian communities and developing youth-oriented commercial industries.
“In November, Gemilang Usahawan will be participating in the Asean entrepreneur summit and conduct an Asean youth lifestyle entrepreneurs conference,” he said.
“We hope to reach out to local youths in part-time or full-time businesses and help them connect with governmental and private funding aid as well as other opportunities.”
Zhariff is passionate about business and recently clinched a coveted commercial spot in Nu Sentral to open the country's first departmental store with focus on local and regional brands.
“The store is part of our 'Agenda Lokalism' campaign and expected to open doors in May. It will serve as a platform for local brands such as Pestle and Mortar, Lansi and Tarik Jeans to reach out to a larger mass market.”
The name of the store will be announced at a later time.
Zhariff said his rebel, innovative streak surfaced upon entering Standard One. When the headmaster advised his parents to register their son in a special school, six-year-old Zhariff demanded a personal meeting to change the headmaster's mind.
“I told him, okay, so the tables and toilets are not the most suitable but we can sort it out. I have always been a believer of adapting to my surroundings instead of changing things to suit me. The headmaster eventually relented after seeing my point.”
With this perspective, Zhariff grew up in the most ordinary Malaysian setting and lives an average person's routine devoid of special aid.
He swims, cycles, drives a regular car — having obtained an international driver's licence from Australia — and uses a regular phone and computer.
“When I have to, I resort to do-it-yourself solutions such as when I wanted to try body-boarding. I designed and crafted a body board with a hook over my neck to hold my body, so that I could pedal with my legs,” he said.
Last year, Zhariff welcomed a daughter, Zeya Marlena, one-year-old, into his life and started enjoying the full time responsibilities of parenthood with his wife, Lynet Harun.
“Zeya is probably the only human who looks at me without any prejudice, even more than my wife or parents.
“Being a father has certainly been a challenge but I do the best I can, yes, even changing diapers.”
On future projects, Zhariff is planning to write an autobiography, an effort he has undertaken seven times but did not complete because of various hiccups.
“I started a few times but lost my work when my hard disk malfunctioned. Hopefully, the next effort will finally take off,” he said.
