Despite disabilities, Affendi rather scavenges trash than beg

By Nurayuni Johari

KUALA LUMPUR – “I would rather pick up trash than to turn myself into garbage,” that is the principles of a homeless person with disabilities (PWD) for the continuance of his life.

No words could describe the hardship that this PWD must go through after becoming disabled two years ago.

To Affendi Muda, 52, as long as he still has the strength, he would continue to scavenge through every alley to collect trash, including scrap metals that could be recycled in order to make a living.

MalaysiaGazette witnessed his perseverance and patience after following him for a day around the capital city of Kuala Lumpur recently.

With his limited strength, Affendi was very determined and hauled the recyclable items collected by him with his wheelchair.

The father of four who originated from Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan said, his life changed in a blink of an eye last year after he suffered an accident at his workplace.

“I was a painter at Kampung Baru. While painting a building, I fell from the third floor and broke my hips, spine, femur and tibia.

“Perhaps I was careless, I did not check the construction staging properly. I could not make a PERKESO claim because I was not registered.

“I knew that it is not easy to recover from this injury at the hospital. The doctors had to insert metal plates in my thigh, spine and I also broke my legs. I decided for my family to go back to the hometown,” he said when met by MalaysiaGazette at his place of living.

Affendi, the eldest among five siblings said, after his discharge from the hospital, his second brother picked him up and invited him back to Jelebu to be with his children at their family’s house.

However, Affendi decided not to stay longer because he did not want to burden anyone. He was still traumatised by the incident and felt that he was useless.

“At the beginning, I was on the wheelchair and it was very difficult to accept the fact. At a point, I became very sensitive.

“When I stayed with my brother, I felt like he was scolding me when he was actually scolding his chickens and ducks. That’s when I decided to come back to Kuala Lumpur and make a living here.

“In the beginning, I always asked for my brother’s help to pick me up from the hospital. When he said that his children had to sleep in the living room, I felt hurt. Perhaps, it is difficult to place me there.

“I will remember those words forever. I’m sorry if he hears this. But I was disappointed because I raised him up and allowed him to stay at that house which was supposed to be mine after the passing of my late father.

“When I was helpless, I truly felt it. To me, it’s alright, I can stay here at the corridor although my children came, cried and asked me to go home and live like I used to,” he said sadly.

Meanwhile, when asked about his wife and children, Affendi said that they did not agree with his way initially.

Deep inside his heart, he misses his family and this is the second year he has to be apart from his family during the fasting month.

“I miss them but I’ve distanced myself because I no longer see eye to eye with my wife. When my children are older, they came to see me here, to break fast with me. Sometimes, they help me find recyclable items in the trash.

“They came here to have sahur with me on the first day of Ramadan. I would be lying if I say that I don’t miss them. Each time I break fast, have sahur, I always think about them but I need to be aware of my current situation. Perhaps, there is a silver lining behind my test.

“Last year was the first year I had to live this way. I was truly sad on the morning of Raya. My children came to see me from far, although they didn’t come together, I understand that they have their own commitment.

“Although I am no longer with my wife and other family members, they come to visit me. I don’t want to go home because I don’t want to trouble anyone. It’s been over eight months, I am used to it,” he said.

Despite he is barely making ends meet, he accepts his fate and he confessed that he was once a beggar merely to support himself.

As a strong father, Affendi ensured that he could work again and earn his living using his strength although he is now a PWD.

According to him, he did not beg for long. Right after he gathered enough of money to buy a wheelchair which made it easier for him to scavenge for recyclable items to be sold, he stopped begging for money.

“During the fasting month, I start moving from the Chow Kit market to the Dang Wangi Mosque as early as 6.00 am. Then, I go to Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman before continuing my search at Dataran Merdeka, Pudu and Kampung Baru.

“I will not miss the opportunity to pick up and collect recyclable items, wherever they are, including the garbage bins. I need to go there early to avoid the bins from being emptied by Alam Flora.

“I will use my wheelchair and the load behind me to travel around KL. The journey is about 17 to 18 kilometres a day. I will seek recyclable items twice a day.

“There are about 80 kilogrammes of collection here. I can get about RM19 to RM27 each day. Enough for me to by diapers and food to continue living,” he said.

Affendi also receives zakat aid from Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the Social Welfare Department (JKM).

However, he is hoping for a new wheelchair which would enable him to seek a living around Kuala Lumpur, and not hoping for a new residence as it would burden him with high costs.

“It’s more on one-off aid. From Baitumal, they came and asked me to fill up forms and I receive the assistance. Meanwhile JKM brought me to an old folks home to stay there.

“But, I didn’t want that because I felt constrained. I prefer to work on my own and be free like this. I used to stay at several Homeless Transit Centres here.

“Due to its schedule constraint and each resident needs to return before 10.00 pm, it is difficult and would stop me from seeking a living.

“I need to go out and find a living, sometimes, until 9.40 pm. I need to tow these things with my wheelchair and I could not go back on time.

“So, I am determined to sleep outside the mosque or around the corridors,” he said, in tears, thinking about his fate.

Although he is surrounded by rubbish every day, Affendi said that his choice of seeking living would not stop him from his religious practice.

He often stop by the Kampung Baru and Dang Wangi Mosques to clean himself.

Although sometimes, he was not allowed to do so by the qariah of the mosques, he would not mind, as long as he could fulfil his duty as a Muslim. -MalaysiaGazette