CORONAVIRUS | Since the movement control order (MCO) was implemented on March 18 to curb the spread of Covid-19, massage therapist Izadin Abdul Razak has been deprived of his steady monthly income to support his family.
After years of being self-sufficient, the 57-year-old visually impaired man has to rely on financial help from his siblings, Social Security Organisation (Socso), donations from clients and some small sales in order to survive.
“Under this MCO we really don't have much income. So I had to rely on my family - even my siblings have wives who didn't work, as their tuition (classes) were halted. Their income has stopped, my income has stopped.
“Fortunately my monthly rental (shop) was reduced to 50 percent of RM1,000. So how do you pay? We just pay with what we have,” Izadin (above) told Malaysiakini.
He lost his vision 15 years ago and previously worked in the human resources and administration division of a manufacturing company. His wife was an engineer but after her contract was terminated several years ago, she has been teaching mathematics and English tuition classes.
Izadin said while it was difficult for a visually impaired person to find another job, he also sold aromatherapy soap that he and his wife made via online.
“Even among the disabled, blindness is considered a bit more difficult. If a person has another disability, but he or she has their eyes, it's easy to get a job.
"We live in an apartment. The other day I sold porridge and curry puffs just in my residential area and my son delivered them, based on orders," he said when asked if he had ever considered looking for another job during the MCO as an alternative source of income.
Families looking for a way to live
On June 10, Senator Ras Adiba Radzi called on the government to allow massage and reflexology service providers among the disabled to resume their operations.
Ras highlighted that reflexology massage services offered by visually impaired are still not allowed on the grounds that such services are in the "entertainment" category.
The government had earlier announced that barber shops and beauty salon would be allowed to reopen starting June 10 under a recovery movement control order (MCO).
Ayurvedic massage therapist Vijay Anand, 37, said his family now had to do odd jobs, as their savings were running low.
His 65-year-old father was hired to write court-related documents since he had worked for a law firm previously. However, Vijay said, this afforded minimal income.
His younger brother, who had previously worked in the government sector, did part-time work while waiting for his contract to be renewed.
Meanwhile, his 65-year-old mother now sells products from multi-level marketing (MLM) products.
"It's not easy. She (mother) has been able to find four clients so far and has only raised RM300. It was not enough and it was a big challenge for us,” said Vijay, who also helped his mother.
To cover daily expenses, Vijay, who is a person with disabilities, also sells products such as massage oil and soap.
“They (the government) allow facial treatments, and haircuts which involve touching, but why are reflexology centres not allowed? It's just like a haircut, ”he said, adding that his mother was also helping out at the ayurvedic massage centre.
Dipping into savings
Meanwhile, another massage centre operator Reza Farish, 40, who is also a person with disabilities, said he was thinking of a way to sustain his life after using up his savings over the past three months.
“Some of our customers are donating so we can pay rent or give money to help friends (who usually work in the massage centre) for us to survive, but this is not for the long term.
"We thought we could open it as usual... so now we have to figure out how to pay the rent," he said, adding that he had received a discount for his monthly rent.
Reza has been employing four workers as massage therapists who have been paid through commissions. According to Reza, before the MCO, on average, they would earn no less than RM1,800 a month.
But since they have not been allowed to operate, those living in the public housing programme (PPR) have lost their source of income and while they can expect RM400 monthly assistance from the Welfare Department, it is not enough.
"I take out some savings and pool them with donations from customers and deliver food and other necessities," he said.
On June 11, the Malaysian Association of the Blind (MAB) in a statement also urged the government to consider reopening the reflexology and massage centres and provide guidelines as soon as possible for them to operate.
It said it was willing to help establish a panel of blind and massage reflexologists to discuss with the Health Ministry in reviewing or preparing standard operating procedures (SOP), as well as financial assistance to ease their burden of living on rent and bills during the closing of the business.
"We hope to create an equal opportunity for the visually impaired community to generate income during this difficult time so that they can enjoy the same quality of life as those who are not visually impaired," the statement said. - Mkini
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