KUALA LUMPUR: Fahmi Fadzil and Yap Chi Hoe were total strangers who have become the best of friends through a ‘tweet’ of fate.
Yap, who had suffered from an eye disorder - chronic retinal detachment, now has better eyesight - born out of that friendship.
It was on Sept 8 that Fahmi, the Lembah Pantai MP, and Yap, a lorry driver, crossed paths.
On that day, Fahmi tweeted about a car driven by Yap, 39, that looked unroadworthy but, unfortunately, his tweet was misunderstood to be a belittling remark and drew adverse reactions from several Twitter users.
Fahmi felt bad that his tweet was misunderstood and decided to make amends.
He tracked down Yap with just the car registration number to go visit, but the latter was apprehensive about meeting the MP.
“Yap was hesitant to meet me at first but did so after some persuasion and explanation,” he said.
At their meeting, Fahmi found out about Yap’s eye disorder and acted immediately to send him for treatment.
“I contacted the Pantai Hospital which agreed to bear the medical and surgical cost that amounted to about RM40,000,” he told reporters after visiting Yap at the hospital.
Fahmi also learned that Yap was driving the “unroadworthy” car because a container lorry had rammed into the rear of his vehicle and he had to drive off after the tow truck failed to turn up.
The MP said he was saddened that Yap had to take the risk of driving the car in that condition despite his eye disorder. Yap was actually taking food home to feed over 20 stray dogs he is taking care of at his home in Klang.
Yap told reporters he was grateful to Fahmi and the hospital for getting his eye disorder treated.
“He (Fahmi) apologised to me and helped me to get on with life anew,” he said.
Pantai Hospital CEO Erica Lam said the hospital has a special programme to help the needy.
“We asked Yap to come for an eye examination and found that the disorder needed immediate treatment or he may become blind,” she said.
Fahmi thanked Lam and eye specialist Dr S. Manoharan for their assistance.
He said Yap’s car was a total loss and he will get an insurance payment. — Bernama
