PETALING JAYA: Sixteen Malaysians will be competing against participants from 25 countries in an international competition of skills and talents for people with different abilities.
Abilympics, or “ability Olympics”, will see the challengers compete once every four years in an array of skills from welding to cooking, painting, data processing and even assembling computers.
Abilympics Malaysia Committee chairman Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulaiman said the 10th International Abilympics will be held at Metz Eurometropole in France for two days from today until March 25.
“In total, there will be 45 skills that will be contested, but Malaysian Abilympians will participate in just 14 events,” she said, adding that 31 delegates comprising contestants, officials and interpreters (language and sign language) departed from the KL International Airport on Sunday.
“In a matter of a few days, our Abilympians will represent our country in the international competition of vocational skills for persons with different abilities. The competition is significant for the Abilympians as the event has been postponed numerous times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. We are glad to finally participate in the long-awaited competition.”
One of the 10 contestants Wan Muhammad Hafizunif Wan Roslan, 25, who has a hearing disability, is currently a baker at Felda Airmata in Padang Besar, Perlis.
He will be participating in a cake decorating competition with the theme following the movie Avatar.
Wan Muhammad Hafizunif said, “I aim to win gold and run my bakery.”
Another hearing-impaired contestant, Rosemary Yvonne Marcus, 41, who is currently a full-time artist based in Telupid, Sabah, will participate in the painting and waste reuse competition.
Under this category, each contestant must design creative objects, whether functional or aesthetic, using waste materials according to a given theme, with the tools and waste provided by organisers.
“I want to become (and be known as) a great artist. I aspire to be an inspiration to people by proving that disability is not a limitation,” she said.
The International Abilympics’ main role is to promote the participation of differently-abled individuals in the skills competition at international level.
Its name was borne out of an idea of organising a competition to promote the professional expertise of this group.
The International Abilympics Federation is made up of more than 40 member countries.
Malaysia participated in the previous five International Abilympics in Australia (1995), India (2003), Japan (2007), South Korea (2011) and France (2016).
Since its first participation in 1995, Malaysia has won two golds (in studio photography and silk hand painting), two silvers (in painting and chess), seven bronzes (in silk hand painting twice, creating web pages, painting, wood carving, car driving and motor mechanics), and four special awards (in English word processing twice, kite-making and painting).
