Sunday April 9, 2006

BY SIRA HABIBU

ALOR STAR: If the Kedah Chinese Assembly Hall's (KCAH) good intentions bear fruit, two young people with large tumours on their faces will one day walk about looking like everyone else.

Its honorary secretary, Cheng Lai Hock, said there was a chance for the two to undergo surgery to remove the tumours and KCAH hoped to raise RM200,000.

He said six Chinese newspapers had agreed to provide publicity for the campaign to raise funds for 18-year-old Hong Siew Hui and Tan Kia Khim, 25.

“A professor from Guangdong told us such cases have been treated before. We are raising funds to take them for preliminary checks at the Fuda Hospital in Guangdong.

SAME PROBLEM: (From left) Siew Hui and Tan having a chat at her house in
Taman Bersatu, Simpang Empat, Alor Star, recently after Tan found out
about her tumour after newspapers highlighted her problem.

“If the doctors confirm that removal by surgery is possible, we will raise more funds for the procedure,” he said.

Siew Hui, featured in the media recently following the release of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results, reiterated that she was reluctant to undergo surgery to “look pretty.”

“I'm scared. I want to go for the X-rays and the tests to see what can be done to my face.

“But I will listen very carefully to what the doctor has to say. If the procedure is risky, I don't want go through with it,” she said yesterday.

Unlike Siew Hui, Tan is excited with the prospect of having a “normal face.”

“I don't have the money to undergo surgery. But if people are willing to help me, I am more than happy to go through with it,” said the coffeeshop worker.

According to him, his mother had told him that the tumour started growing when he fell off his bed when he was barely a year old.

Donors can send cheques made out to “KCAH Special Medical Fund” to the assembly hall at No 8, Jalan Tanjung Bendahara, 05300 Alor Star, or deposit the cash into Public Bank account number 3135-78-032-4. For further information, call O4-7354016.