USM PENANG, 13 December 2022 – The daughter of couple Chew Boon Pau, 65, and Ching Siew Yeang, 58, is indeed a favourite child who always pleases both of her parents.

Chew Sui Teng, 26, a Bachelor of Education (Special Education) graduate of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) who was born with sight disability, said that her disability is a gift from God.

Her mother, Siew Yeang agreed to it and said, “My daughter is indeed a gift. Even though she was born with a disability, that did not stop her from always giving her best. She is able to manage herself including changing and washing clothes, folding clothes, washing dishes and so on.

"In fact, the teachers have also told me that it was very easy to teach my daughter. She easily remembers what was taught, and she is even able to walk by herself to the classroom, canteen, teacher's room and so on with only being shown the way once," she said.

Siew Yeang added that she is confident that her daughter is capable of excelling in her studies, because since childhood she has been good at learning to be independent, including reading books and so on, even though she only started school when she was 10 years old.

Meanwhile Sui Teng said that she studied using a computer by listening to the screen reader and coupled with the help from a few of her friends, she has managed to succeed today.

“Besides studying, most of my course mate and friends helped me to move around the campus and I am thankful for having such wonderful and helpful friends for always giving me a hand throughout my studies at USM,” she said.

When asked if USM was in her previous list of places to study in, Sui Teng said that she had to wait for another intake to apply because she loves the campus environment when she came for a trip during her secondary school days.

“I wish to be a teacher in special education, to help the disabled students, especially the blind, and I would like to motivate others out there to try their best and to not give up; a disability is not a challenge, but a strength to move forward, and don’t take it as an excuse as it is a strength to succeed in our own way,” she said.

A total of 613 graduands received their respective scrolls during the eleventh session of the USM 60th Convocation Ceremony.

A total of 7,320 graduates received degrees in their respective fields from the first to the twelfth sessions which is now taking place from 3 to 14 December at Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra (DTSP), USM, here.

Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi