PASIR PUTEH: Despite being unable to move around due to his hunched body, Mohd Hafizal Kadir is at ease in entertaining his listeners with pleasant and casual chatters while he plays songs over internet radio, Perindu FM.
Bernama paid the 31-year-old disabled DJ a visit at Kampung Tasik Pauh near here and was surprised to find him lying on a thick blanket while broadcasting his programme.
His presence in the living room is hardly noticeable as he is also very thin and hunched.
But his gentle and casual voice while handling the song request segment is pleasant to the ear which help to ease the listeners’ boredom from work and he is always encouraging listeners to put in their requests for their favourite songs.
Mohd Hafizal said he started deejaying two years ago when he was invited to fill the vacancy of the song request slot for IJAZ internet radio before moving to Radio Perindu FM four months ago.
“I could not do any work… I am only able to lie in bed all day long. My food, clothes and all other personal needs are handled by my mother, sister and brother-in-law.
He hoped that his job as a deejay would make his mother and family happy as they never tired of managing him every day.
“At one time I was visited by a man who started the IJAZ internet radio and he offered me to be a deejay on his internet radio and I immediately accepted the offer,” he explained, adding that he has been working for a year with the internet radio.
Earlier this year, he was invited to work with another internet radio Perindu FM and he has been entertaining song requests from listeners in 3pm to 5pm slot since then.
“This is where I work and this is the equipment I use for work,” he said, referring to the bed and a mobile phone that he used to choose the song or chatter and to grant the songs requested by his loyal fans.
His mother, Esah Ismail, 56, said her son, the youngest of two who were born disabled, and Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (HUSM) has become his second home.
She said Mohd Hafizal used to be able to crawl inside the house but two months ago he suffered a stroke and a heart attack causing his both legs to curve and is now only able to lie on the bed.
She added that her husband died when Mohd Hafizal was small and he only managed to attend school until Year Six. He was forced to stop schooling as she could not afford the time to send and pick him from school while managing her daughter, Maznah, 33, who is also disabled.
Asked whether having two disabled children had been burdensome to her, Esah insisted that her two children were her most valuable treasure as well as her soul for she will care for them until the end of her life.
Meanwhile, Mohd Hafizal’s colleague, Mohd Hafiz Yusof, who is also known as Deejay Dunia, is visually impaired, and he only knew about Mohd Hafizal’s condition when visiting him at HUSM in February.
“While he is on the air… his delivery is fresh, cheerful and informative, and I think listeners who did not know he is a disabled person,” he said, adding that Mohd Hafizal was his follower and his loyal listener for the past 10 years.
Mohd Hafiz hopes that someone will come forward to provide broadband service for Mohd Hafizal to facilitate his work. – Bernama
