I refer to the recent controversy surrounding the burial rights over Malaysian Everest climber and former army lance corporal, the late Mohammad Abdullah @ M Moorthy.
Whilst it is indeed a very sad and a serious happening for all sides concerned, let us not forget that above all the individual was a person with a profound disability, especially during the last seven years of his life.
The 'mountains' he had to climb as a disabled Malaysian would have undoubtedly been some of the toughest that he had had encountered during his lifetime living in a world that does not provide for his basic needs and rights, and others like him.
Therefore, would we also be willing to hold vigils and light candles in his memory for the many other Mohammad Abdullahs, Moorthys, Andrews and Kim Fatts, who have to go through life each day in Malaysia with their own disabilities hoping for job employments, affordable healthcare aids and access to public transport in their wheelchairs?
Does freedom to practise one's own religion also include making all places of worship such as temples, churches and mosques also accessible to persons with wheelchairs?
Or are people with disabilities still expected to remain unnoticed at the fringes of our lives and society?