Next year, the 41-year old will represent Malaysia in the silk hand painting category at the 10th International Abilympics competition in Russia.
Amran stumbled into the colourful world of batik art when he was 18 years old, after attending his first batik workshop in 1997, organised by PERDA (Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah Pulau Pinang).
It was a rocky journey at the start. Because he lacked fingers, it was difficult for him to hold the “canting” (the pen-like tool used to apply hot wax to the cloth) and draw the batik patterns.
“When I held the ‘canting’, my fingers would be very unstable and the hot wax would spill on the cloth, damaging the pattern,” Amran told FMT.
His prosthetic legs only added to his troubles as he found it painful to stand for long periods when working on a piece of batik. He solved this problem with a chair, placing it next to himself and taking a break when standing became too painful.
Despite all the challenges, his passion kept him going and he eventually became the talented batik painter he is today.
Upon completing the course in batik painting, he applied for a job as a batik artist at the workshop where it all began.
He worked there for three years, until 2001, when the economic downturn following the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s forced the workshop to close down and he was retrenched.
He joined the Social Welfare Department (JKM) and remains there until today as an assistant social welfare worker.
His full-time job leaves Amran with little free time, so he currently creates batik paintings and prints for children. He is well known in the batik community, so he receives a constant stream of orders and requests for batik designs.
“I’m eternally grateful to Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulaiman and the team from the Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation (MCR) because they encourage, support and motivate me a lot. They also gave me the opportunity to exhibit my work and provided exposure of my work to the public.”
Amran is no rookie to the world of International Abilympics as he took home the bronze medal in the 9th International Abilympics in France in 2016.
The Abilympics was first held in Tokyo in 1981, to mark the United Nations International Year of Disabled Persons. It is usually held every five years, though it varies between every three to six years.
Among its aims are to improve the skills of disabled persons and encourage them to take part in the economic activities of their home countries and increase awareness of the capabilities of people with disabilities.
Amran has no doubt, he will come back triumphant from next year’s Abilympics with a gold medal.
“I feel honoured to be blessed with the opportunity to participate in the competition for the second time. It shows that people with disabilities are recognised for their abilities and not their disabilities.”
Amran’s achievements:
- Gold medal at the 2014 Perak Abilympics in the category of silk hand painting, organised by Majlis Pembangunan Masyarakat in collaboration with MCR in Ipoh.
- Gold medal at the 2015 National Abilympics in the category of silk hand painting/drawing skills, organised by MCR in collaboration with Akademi Pelajar Melayu, Universiti Malaya.
- Bronze medal at the 9th International Abilympics Competition 2016, in the category of silk hand painting, represented Malaysia in Bordeaux, France.
- Gold medal at the 2018 National Abilympics in the category of silk hand painting, organised by MCR in collaboration with JKMM.
