TikTok video of Malaysian 7-time Asean Para Games champion selling tissue causes outrage
- Para-swimmer Koh Lee Peng won seven gold medals and three silver medals at the Asean Para Games from 2001 to 2005
- She started selling tissue in 2019 after leaving her office job due to accessibility issues
Video creator Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang posted a video last Wednesday of his encounter with former swimming para-athlete Koh Lee Peng, who was selling tissues at a luxury shopping district in Kuala Lumpur.
While chatting with the content creator, the seven-time gold medallist revealed that her last competition was in 2017 and showed off the five medals that she had donned.
“I have no choice. I have to live. Things are getting expensive. I have to rely on myself. I have bills to pay monthly,” explained Koh in Hokkien.
The former national para swimmer represented Malaysia at the Asean Para Games from 2001 to 2005. During the five years, she clinched seven gold and three silver medals.
Hailing from the Malaysian state of Penang, Koh was also subsequently named Penang’s Best Paralympic Sportswoman in 2015 and Penang’s Female Paralympian of the Year for 2016.
Before selling tissues on the street, Koh held an office job. However, as her workplace was in a building with no lifts, she faced issues with accessibility and decided to leave, according to news site Says.
Users tagged Youth and Sports Minister and Member of Parliament for Segambut, Hannah Yeoh, to bring the issue to her attention. However, she has not responded to the video at the time of writing on Tuesday.
Turned down help
This is not the first time Koh made headlines for her predicament.
The 2019 article by Berita Harian detailed Koh’s struggles as a tissue seller when she first made the career switch. She described being looked down upon, facing verbal abuse and being accused of being part of a “syndicate” to earn “easy money” while selling tissue in Penang.
Infuriated by Koh’s living situation, Twitter user Fayadh Wahab called for “a significant policy change” to address para-athletes.
The tweet led to the para-athlete’s story going viral, receiving coverage from numerous local news outlets.
Koh had received offers of help from government agencies but rejected the offers as she wanted to be “self reliant”, according to online news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
The National Sports Council of Malaysia had previously invited her to join an entrepreneurial programme for former athletes, but she had turned down the offer.
Koh had previously told Malaysian national news agency Bernama that she strives to live independently and that she is not “ashamed of this honest way of earning a living”.
The chairman of the National Athletes’ Welfare Foundation (YAKEB), Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed, has urged social media users not to sensationalise and exploit the plight of Koh for their personal agenda, according to FMT.
“Don’t tarnish the good reputation and name of national athletes for personal or political gain. It will spark a negative perception that can cause public confusion and result in a lack of support for national athletes,” he said.
Koh earns about 800 ringgit (US$186) a month from selling tissues and receives 300 ringgit (US$70) of monthly help from the YAKEB, according to Bernama.
