Learning music and forming a band have given four men and a young woman a new lease on life. ANUSHA K has the story...
AS many of us hit the gym after a stressful day, members of Triumphant take up their musical instruments and exercise their vocal chords. The band tackles all genre, from rock songs to harmonious melodies. They sing in Mandarin and English and perform mainly in the Klang Valley but have made it all the way to Bintulu, Sarawak, for a show.
What makes all this unusual is that all the band members are wheelchair-bound.
Triumphant’s story began one sunny day in September 2009. The Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya (RCPJ) took up the idea of forming the band, a project proposed and implemented by past district governor Datuk Dr Low Teong. Because none of the band members knew how to read music notes, Rotarian Johnny Thean taught them to play instruments from scratch and to improve their singing with lots of practice. The musical instruments were bought with donations from Crocodile foundation and various fundraising efforts.
RCPJ collaborated with members of the Beautiful Gate Foundation, a centre for the disabled.
The project was initiated to develop the musical talents of the handicapped, provide them with an opportunity to engage in productive activities and to earn an income. The Rotary International Significant Achievement Award was conferred in 2009-2010.
Because the entire day is spent at Beautiful Gate, band members try to allocate four days each week for practice. On Jan 6, Triumphant performed for the first time in public, at the RCPJ 50th anniversary celebrations, which was attended by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
The band performed You Raise Me Up, Never Give Up, and a Mandarin number, Friend.
Takes the blues away
Triumphant comprises Kenneth Thien, Krishnan Sivasankaran, Vincent Aw, Kelvin Leong and Loh Mei Lee. Except for Krishnan, the rest work and stay at Beautiful Gate in Taman Kepong Baru and divide their time between band practice and work at the centre.
Lead vocalist and band leader Thien says that playing music is therapeutic and a form of escapism.
“The band has performed at many functions for Beautiful Gate, and we are delighted to show what we have learnt so far at our first public performance”, he said.
Before he was confined to a wheelchair, Thien was a very active sportsman in high school. He won gold medals in long jump and distance running.
Unfortunately, when he was 20 and working as a marketing sales executive, he met with an accident while driving the company van.
“I hardly remember anything of the accident. The next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed and had injured my spine. I have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I was heartbroken when the doctor told me that,” said the 43-year-old.
Eventually, Thien moved on and developed a positive outlook. At Beautiful Gate, he helps take care of other disabled adults and has learnt vocational skills such as data entry, handicraft and writing newsletters. He is also busy refining his vocal skills and usually sings songs that are motivational and encouraging, which he says energise him and give him an adrenaline rush, something he has not felt since the accident.
Leong, meanwhile, is the guitarist and also vocalist for the band. A committee member of Beautiful Gate, Leong stays in the centre, equipping himself with better communication skills and practicing on his first love, the guitar.
He was disabled in a motorbike accident when he was just 15 years old. His bike hit a stone and he was thrown off.
Leong, the eldest child in his family, used to live with them in Raub, Pahang but he felt it was a burden for his aged parents to look after him, so he came to Beautiful Gate and learnt skills that would help him be more independent.
“I never gave up learning the guitar, I thoroughly enjoy playing songs that I could only listen to previously,” says Leong, whose favourite song is My Love by Westlife.
The only hurdle, Leong says, is that he tends to forget the lyrics because of stage fright. “But I have learnt so much and making mistakes only makes you more determined to improve.”
Aw works as an administrator at Beautiful Gate. A minor spinal surgery that went wrong 14 years ago left him wheelchair-bound. He plays base for Triumphant. Krishnan plays the drums, while Loh, the only rose among the thorns, is on keyboards.
Triumphant performs at functions nationwide and can be contacted at 03-6272 7049.
Source: News Straight Times: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/People_Bandinwheelchairs/Article/art_print
Time of giving: Yeoh (centre) and Kawasan Rukun Tetangga (KRT) USJ 2 and USJ 6 chairman Ang How Chuan(left) distributing goodie bags to residents of the homes. 
Smooth act: A team from Beautiful Gate performing a traditional Chinese fan dance on wheelchairs at the fest.
