Six with disabilities among 22 climbers to scale Mount Kinabalu

The six are four International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) students, IIUM Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Nizam Barom and OKU Sentral sustainability officer Khairull Hafiz Ismail.

IIUM deputy rector (Student Development and Community Engagement) Assoc Prof Dr Zulkifli Hasan will lead the IIUM-organised expedition from Aug 28-Sept 2 and he will be joined by five climbing buddies and 10 other climbing crew members.

A participant, Mohd Nizam, 48, when met by Bernama after the launch of the expedition by OKU Sentral president Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi today, said that he initially felt a bit nervous about joining the expedition.

"But after training at several places, including Bukit Melati (Negeri Sembilan) and Bukit Gasing (Kuala Lumpur), I have become more confident as we are also compatible with our climbing buddies," he added.

The visually-impaired Mohd Nizam, who is a first-time climber, is confident of conquering the highest peak in Southeast Asia.

"I will continue training to increase my stamina, either by running in the stadium or walking up and down stairs in the IIUM faculty building after office hours," he added.

Meanwhile, Ras Adiba, who welcomed the IIUM initiative by giving the disabled an opportunity to participate in an expedition to scale Mount Kinabalu, said they could only dream of taking part in such activities.

"But IIUM has helped turn this dream into reality and it is indeed a good initiative.

"I hope that this initiative does not stop here but continues because sports and recreation are something that disabled people should also be able to enjoy," she said.