I have spina bifida and what this means to Malaysia

Abstract

In December of 2002, the Malaysian government sent one very highly opinionated individual with spina bifida to do her PhD on her medical condition at University College London (UCL). Truth be told, in retrospect, during the phone interview with Professor Andrew J. Copp, this particular Malaysian student was not aware that her would-be PhD supervisor at that time most likely may not have considered the extent of the severity of her disability and the extent of having to deal with an individual with needs, different from other postgraduate students. UCL and England, being champions of equal opportunity, the focus during the London-Kuala Lumpur phone interview was entirely on her laboratory experience. The individual knew one thing and one thing alone, that she wanted to be regarded as capable purely on the basis of her academic abilities, and keenness on the topic and that she knew she had a huge plus on her side, that the Malaysian government would finance her studies (being of Bumiputera status by virtue of her mother's ethnicity) and having passed all the relevant exams and that all she needed to do was to make the case to procure a PhD studentship from a top global university.