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By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Aug 23: Being uniped and one-legged after his right leg was amputated has changed the life of 54-year-old Kuching City North Hall (DBKU) enforcement unit officer Suharto Shariff. In the last two years, he has had to rely on a prosthetic limb to get around to carry out his job duties and the artificial leg has become an integral part of his daily life.
Hailing from Kampung No. 6 Kuching, Suharto said his life took a turn after he injured his right ankle. His ankle subsequently got infected due to medical conditions and needed to be amputated.
Suharto said that since he was discharged from the hospital, he had to use a wheelchair and crutches to get around, until DBKU provided him with access to medical care and support to get him a prosthetic leg some two years ago.
“I cannot afford the prosthetic leg as it is expensive, but thanks to DBKU, the management got me one costing RM5,000. These artificial legs are expensive because it is made of titanium material to last.
“It can cost up to RM10,000 for a special design,” he told reporters during the Free Prosthetic Implant Charity Programme 2023 at Bangunan Pertubuhan Anak Seni Bandarsah Kuching today.
Suharto said he heard of the programme through Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) Satok Branch on the free prosthetic limbs programme organised by Persatuan Pengajian Sadhu Vaswani, Malaysia, Yayasan Peduli Tuna Daksa, Jakarta and The Malaysian Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints since May 28 of this year.
“So I decided to come for the programe and have my measurement taken, so that I can have a spare prosthetic limb for my amputated leg. Today, I am happy that I will have a new one as a spare to use,” he shared.
Suharto expressed gratitude for the initiative organised by the non-government organisations to help those in need of prosthetic limbs but cannot afford it to get said limbs so they can be more mobile.
“I am so happy that I have a spare, as we cannot be assured that the prosthetic limb we use will last. With the artificial leg, it makes mobility for me much easier too,” he said. — DayakDaily
