KUALA LUMPUR: Silatul Rahim Dahman already had big dreams as a boy. However, no one took the boy seriously back then he had lost his sight after suffering from chickenpox at the age of five.

Teachers belittled him when he talked about wanting to work with computers.

“Don't be crazy, a blind person will not be able to handle a PC,” Silatul Rahim painfully recalled one telling him.

“Polish your Malay and English, you can be an efficient telephone operator,” another shot at him.

These words only served to fire up the Jitra boy's determination to realise his dreams. The rest is now history.

Rising above adversity: Silatul Rahim (right) reading out a memorandum from the blind at the launch of the Special Persons Secretariat as Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau chairman Datuk Muhd Khairun Aseh (second from left) looks on.

Silatul Rahim is said to be the country's first blind person to obtain a computer science diploma, obtaining the qualification from the Overbrook College for the Blind in Philadelphia in 1991.

“My parents had faith in me. I knew it when they sold their farmland to send me to the United States,” he said yesterday.

These days, the 44-year-old is a role model to the visually-impaired, encouraging them to live independently using his pet interest.

He spends time teaching them how a computer can be used to make a living.

Silatul Rahim, an assistive technology and web accessibility specialist who works as an IT manager at the Malaysian Association of the Blind, has imparted his knowledge to more than 5,000 blind students from across the region.

“This is the one thing I want to keep doing in my life ... to exploit technology for the benefit of my fellow blind.

“I am happy to note that many of those whom I have taught have become successful in their careers, some have even become lawyers and accountants,” said the father of four.

Yesterday, Silatul Rahim attended the launch of the new Special Persons Secretariat placed under the Umno Youth Community Complaints Bureau, of which he is the chairman.

The secretariat will serve as a one-stop centre for people with special needs and help them to seek employment, welfare allowances and insurance cover.

“When we attend interviews, employers always judge us based on our disability. This is sad,” he added.

• ECM Libra plans to exit PN17 by year-end
• China HSBC flash PMI hits 7-mth low, fans growth fears
• RHB Research maintains Buy on KPJ Healthcare, FV RM7.30
• Alliance Neutral on Axiata, ups target price to RM7
• Deleum top loser, down 11.3% after disappointing results
• Maybank KE Research maintains Hold on AirAsia
• Public Invest Research ups Uzma target price to RM2.86
• Malaysia's blue chips fall more than 6pts in early trade
• Profit taking may weigh on Malaysian equities
• HP raises 2013 outlook as Whitman's plan takes hold
• Bernanke says more progress needed before stimulus pullback
• Wall Street falters in volatile session on Fed worries
• Aeon director: GST won’t affect group
• Petronas Chemicals Group to invest RM3bil in capital expenditure
• Weak CPO prices hit Boustead profit

• Two babies among US tornado victims
• Anti-Islamist protests flare following London attack
• 'British solider' butchered in suspected Islamist attack

• Ice queen Nicol into British Open quarters
• Australia to consider following ban on anchor putters
• Intxausti wins 16th stage, Nibali still keeps pink jersey
• Indonesia drawn to meet China again – in knockout stage
• Results worldwide
• Malacca sprinter Mohd Azam Masri out to create history by winning five events in MSSM meet
• Athletics runs in the veins of Vallabouy family
• Chinese long jumper Jinzhe claims another Olympic scalp
• Dane Jorgensen’s wish is to avoid Chinese ace Lin Dan in World Championships
• National badminton team’s lack of depth a glaring factor in home tourney
• Khim Wah-V Shem perform above expectations in Sudirman Cup debut
• Jindapon aims to qualify for 2016 Olympics
• Kenichi’s goal is to take Japan into Sudirman Cup semi-finals
• Dong-keun shows he’s a capable replacement
• Harrison makes swift U-turn

• Please wait.

• Actress’ barking pet saves her from attacker in late night incident
• In China, food scares put Mao's self-sufficiency goal at risk
• What comes after WYY?
• All four accused guilty in murder of Sosilawati Lawiya and three others (Update)
• Chromebook to help rural pupils leapfrog into parity with urban peers
• Free entry to MATTA Fair in Penang
• Astro and Maxis to deliver new-age TV service in Klang Valley
• Asean flavour in Invest M’sia confab
• Petronas Chemicals Group to invest RM3bil in capital expenditure
• Report: AirAsia X sets indicative price for IPO