Malaysian boy is now ‘Iron Man’ with new arm
Year One student goes from being made fun of to being named after a Marvel superhero
Baz Mazwin Nik Anis
Attending school was a painful experience for Muhammad Fathul Naqib Fakrul Iskar, who had to face taunts from other students everyday for being born without a left arm.
But things are looking up for the Year One pupil from SK Kampung Tengah in Kemaman, Terengganu, who has been given a prosthetic limb courtesy of MyVista Sdn Bhd, a 3D printing company.
Since he received the bright red prosthetic, Muhammad Fathul Naqib is now known as “Iron Man” after the Marvel superhero.
“I’m famous and everyone wants to see and touch my arm,” the boy proudly declared.
His 3D printed arm had caught the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who was being briefed on the latest initiatives under the Northern Corridor Economic Region’s social innovation programme.
“I was sad that other children were making fun of him. So, I decided to contact Pak Su to see if he could help my son,” said his mother, Norhaizah Abd Wahab.
In this case, “Pak Su” is Sujana Mohd Rejab, the CEO of MyVista, who agreed to make the prosthetic arm for the boy.
Another innovation highlighted to the Prime Minister during the brief was a “drying machine” for honey invented by Dr Mohd Zulkifli Mustafa of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Neuroscience Department.
The machine helps reduce water content in honey produced by lebah kelulut, or stingless bees.
“By using this machine, the honey no longer has a sour aftertaste.
“Because of this, the product can fetch a higher price and bring in more income for farmers,” said Dr Zulkifli.
From a selling price of RM150 (US$150) per kg, madu kelulut that has been “dried out” can be sold for up to RM500 (US$116.81) per kg.
Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq said Najib, who chaired the 18th NCIA Council meeting yesterday, asked for more social innovation programmes to be rolled out.
“He wants to see more innovation to help solve people’s day-to-day problems. He wants us to give priority to social innovation because the outreach is immense,” he said.
Redza said that as of June, NCIA has attracted RM4.65bil (US$1.09 billion)m in investments and created 5,033 job opportunities.
