Stories

Skills, told as stories

We tell stories the way Abilympics judges talent — skill first, then the person, then the stage they are heading to.

The long story

Four decades of Abilympics Malaysia

In 1985, the Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation organised the first National Abilympics in conjunction with National Welfare Week. Forty years on, that competition has become a national pathway — from local roadshows to the world stage.

The record speaks for itself: Malaysia has won medals at every International Abilympics it has entered. Bronze in Car Driving and Motor Mechanic at the Perth debut in 1995. Silver in Chess at Delhi 2003. A first Gold in Silk Hand Painting at Seoul 2011 — earned by a competitor in his fourth international cycle. Gold again in Studio Photography at Bordeaux 2016. And in 2023, sixteen Abilympians carried the flag in Metz and returned with a Silver, two Bronze and two Excellence Awards.

Helsinki 2027 is the next chapter — and the reason this platform exists.

The full timeline → Every result →

Four decades of Team Malaysia — bringing skilled competitors together and taking them to the world stage.

The craft story

Skills through the years

Read Malaysia's competition record in order and you watch the modern workplace arrive. The 1990s squad competed in car driving, motor mechanics and kite making. The 2000s brought silk hand painting, wood carving and word processing.

By Metz 2023, the delegation's skills read like a jobs board: creating web pages, computer assembly, data processing, studio and outdoor photography — alongside enduring crafts such as embroidery, dressmaking, floral arrangement and cake decoration.

The skills evolve with the economy, and Malaysian Abilympians evolve with them. That is the point of the movement: real professions, judged to real standards.

All 22 skills Malaysia has competed in →

Champion stories

The professionals behind Malaysia's results — told skill-first, from verified records. Portraits are being added as photography is prepared.

Photo: The Star

Painting & Waste Reuse

Rosemary Yvonne Marcus

A painter from Telupid, Sabah, whose Kadazan-Dusun heritage runs through everything she makes — Sabah's culture, nature and village life rendered in acrylic, watercolour, oil, crayon and fountain pen. Her painting "Indohuan" took a joint Category C Grand Prize in 2019, and in 2023 she carried her craft to the world stage in Metz, placing fifth in Painting & Waste Reuse. Her ambition: a gallery of her own.

Photo: Abilympics Malaysia

Photography (Studio)

Haymasuthan Periasamy

A professional freelance photographer — and Malaysia's 2016 Gold medallist in Studio Photography at Bordeaux. Mid-competition, he improvised a makeup mirror as a light source and still finished his shoot well before the deadline. In 2023 he returned to represent Malaysia again in Metz: proof that Abilympics careers can span cycles.

Photo: Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation / The Star

Painting & Waste Reuse

Nur Amiratul Farahin Binti Ab. Rahman

A first-time international competitor who took Silver at Metz 2023 — Malaysia's best result of the cycle. Preparation meant mastering waste-reuse techniques that were entirely new to her, with training support from The Green Hero and Ibrahim Sultan Polytechnic in Pasir Gudang.

Photo: NSTP / Intan Nur Elliana Zakaria

Embroidery

Anis Humairah Binti Riduwan

Her needlework began at home — a 2019 feature described her sewing and marketing telekung with her mother in Lubok Merbau, near Kuala Kangsar, Perak. Four years later she stood in Metz with an Excellence Award in Embroidery, with coaching support credited to UiTM Fashion.

Photo: Abilympics Malaysia

Restaurant Services

Muhammad Hanif Naufal Bin Mohd Mazni

A double achiever at Metz 2023: Bronze Medal and Excellence Award in Restaurant Service — the only Malaysian to take two honours home that cycle. His preparation was guided by Langkawi Community College, a model of what vocational institutions and Abilympics can build together.

Photo: Abilympics Malaysia

Creating Web Pages

Loh Seng Fong

A professional web designer who found the Abilympics movement through a Facebook announcement — and went on to represent Malaysia in Creating Web Pages at Metz 2023. Described in team records for his never-give-up attitude, he stands for the digital generation of Malaysian Abilympians.

Profiles are compiled from verified records and published with consent. More stories — with portraits and quotes — are being prepared with each champion.