KOTA KINABALU, Dec 20 — Partially-blind Felicia Mikat, 16, has lived away from home since the age of seven.
This is so she can go to a special needs school some two hours’ drive away from her home in Kampung Kipaku, in the interior of Tambunan.
The daughter of a rubber tapper, Felicia did Malaysia proud at the recently-concluded 8th Asean Para Games in Singapore when she won three gold medals in the 100 metre, 200 metre and 400 metre sprint events.
Her parents, subsistence farmers, only earn a regular income of about RM200 a month from selling rubber but they try their best to see her every school holidays. They spend about RM100 on public transportation just to make their way from home to the school to pick her up and bring her home when they can.
It’s a good thing they get a hardship allowance of RM1,800 a month from the authorities so that helps with expenses.
The third child and only daughter, Felicia learned very early on that her background and disability were something she she had to get used to, and did not let them get in the way of her pursuing her interests which includes reading, listening to music, and of course, running.
Felicia’s relatives and family friends managed to get her social media coverage where she gained fans, followers and more media attention for her achievements..
As feisty as she is shy, Felicia is happy to have gained some recognition and uses it as a motivation to do better and aim higher.
She is already focussing on the next national Para Games in Sarawak, the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) games in Terengganu and the Paralympics in Brazil.
Here, Felicia talks about her struggles, the sudden fame, a rooftop infinity pool and mosquito poison cakes!
In her own words:
Although I’m used to it now, sometimes when I’m away from home, I miss my family a lot. I imagine their faces and I remember their chatter. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t live so far away from them. I would go to school in the village and live with my family.
I can see things, but not at distance, and not at night. When it gets harder to see, I cannot force it, I have to stop. When studying at school, I need bright lights. Even then, it hurts, and I have to stop. If my eyes touch rain, it also hurts.
Never really felt my problem would impact my ambition. I want to be a teacher. That’s the only job I’ve ever wanted, so far. If I’m not lucky enough to be a teacher, maybe I’ll become a trader or jual-jual.
At school, we call the ham chim peng (Chinese five spice spiral doughnut) kuih racun nyamuk. I love it.
Did I like the hotel in Singapore? There were 55 floors and we stayed on the 42nd floor. It was so big you could get lost in it. It was so high, you can get queasy. There was a rooftop pool and a jacuzzi. Everyday we soaked in the jacuzzi! As soon as the meetings and activities were over, we’d run to the pool.
In secondary school, I had to learn with other “normal” kids. We had to gather together, study together, shower together. They’re different, noisy. We had to shower early to avoid them. It feels weird. Like we don’t know how they feel about us. Sometimes, they tease us, but we learn to get used to it and ignore them eventually.
Seeing all the social media attention is fun. A lot of people have congratulated me. Feels like maybe I have touched their lives in some way. Feels glamour sikit.
I’ve had a lot of friend requests (on Facebook). I didn’t count or approve all of them but there’s a LOT. Some people I don’t know, some I already know from before.
Yesterday I went to the local mall, there were people who recognised me and chased after us from one floor to another. They approached me and asked if I was the girl who won the gold medal and asked to take pictures with me. Best juga rasa. One even gave me money!
To anyone like me, I just want them to know that if you really want something, you have to do it wholeheartedly. I have gone through tough times before, when no matter how hard or how many times you try, it isn’t good enough. Eventually, you can achieve what you want if you keep trying and never give up.
