SERDANG: Suffering from a hearing impairment has not stood in the way of Dr Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman’s(pix) love for communicating with and understanding animals.
Kuala Lumpur-born Dr Abdul Aziz received his veterinary medicine degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at the university’s 45th convocation ceremony, here today. He is working as a veterinarian in a clinic in Shah Alam.
“Due to my disability, I would rather communicate with animals than people. When comes to people we need to communicate verbally but with animals, we just observe their behavior,” he told reporters after the convocation ceremony.
Dr Abdul Aziz, 25, said that his hearing impairment was diagnosed late, when he was in Year One. He began using a hearing aid when he was seven years old.
He said that his late mother was his biggest supporter to achieve his dreams of becoming a veterinarian, when many others around him doubted his ambition, apart from the fact that the veterinary field was still fairly unknown to many at that time.
“My work at the clinic involves doing animal sterilization and soft tissue surgeries. My dream is to become a veterinary surgeon,” said Dr Abdul Azizi, who expressed his appreciation to his employer, who was willing to employ him despite knowing about his disability.
He also advises the PWD community not to let their disability be an obstacle to achieving success in life, because everyone has the right and deserves to develop themselves, together with continuous efforts and positive support.
Meanwhile, wheelchair-bound graduate, Hussain Said, 27, who obtained his Master’s degree in Malay Language, said that he was grateful to his parents for their steadfast encouragement. He had previously completed his Bachelor of Arts in Malay Language and Linguistics, also at UPM.
On why he chose the Malay language as his field of study, Hussain, who works as a cashier in Tanjung Karang, Selangor, said that he wants to alter the mentality of society in upholding the Malay language.
“We see so much of ‘bahasa rojak’ (mishmash or hodgepodge of languages) … How do we want to change people’s mentality, especially that of the younger generation, to use the Malay language correctly. That is what made me interested in this field (of study),” he added.
The UPM convocation ceremony, which began today, and runs until March 24, involves a total of 6,142 graduates comprising 484 recipients of the doctorate in philosophy (PhD), master’s degree (1,611), bachelor’s degree (3,564) and diploma (483). -Bernama