When we see our national athletes winning medals on TV, it’s natural to assume that they live a glamourous life. However, this could not be further from the truth, especially if you’re not bringing home gold medals or if you’re retired.
Recently, former para weightlifting national athlete, Mr Mogan Subramaniam gained the attention of Malaysians again when a TikTok video by Harish King (@harishking) about his problems went viral. Mr Mogan had previously asked for Malaysians’ help in March 2022 when he appeared in a Facebook post by Uncle Kentang.
Funds needed to reclaim house and repay debts
In Harish’s video, he calls for Malaysians to help Mr Mogan raise funds to reclaim his house in Taiping, Perak as well as to settle his debts. He’d need a total of RM360,000 to do both.
In an interview with WORLD OF BUZZ, Mr Mogan said that he had lost his house in 2016 when an accident in 2015 resulted in him not being able to run his business as usual.
This is because the accident had resulted in a total loss to his car, which he used to deliver the fire extinguishers he sold.
Losing both legs
Mr Mogan started experiencing problems with his legs when he was 14 years old. After about a decade of trying different treatments for the nerve damage in his legs, he went to India to try his luck for the last time.
There, the doctors told him that he’d need to amputate both his legs from the knee down if they see no improvement from his treatments.
Unfortunately, after a long struggle, Mr Mogan had to have his legs amputated in 2002. He competed in national level powerlifting events from 2002 to 2006.
Making a living
Then, in 2009, he started his own business selling fire extinguishers. He also bought a double-storey house in Taiping and a car using a TEKUN National loan.
However, tragedy struck again in 2015 when Mr Mogan met with the accident that caused him to lose not only his car, but also his older sister and a dear helper.
As a result of losing his car, Mr Mogan was not able to run his business like before. Consequently, he couldn’t make enough money to continue paying his house’s monthly loan instalment of RM1,350 anymore.
No way out
So, in 2016, Mr Mogan decided to let go of his house. Currently, he is paying a monthly rental of RM650 to live in the house that used to be his.
“I would like to continue with my business but it’s difficult as I don’t have a car now. I’m also unable to take out any loans as I’ve been blacklisted by Credit Tip-Off Service (CTOS) and the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) for failing to pay my car loan of RM18,000 to TEKUN National,” Mr Mogan told WORLD OF BUZZ.
Speaking with Harish who shared the video of Mr Mogan, he wishes that the government will take more initiative to protect and ensure the welfare of ex-national athletes like Mr Mogan.
Watch the full video below:
If you would like to make a donation to Mr Mogan, please see below his bank account details:
Bank name: Maybank
Bank account number: 558051356990
Recipient name: Mogan a/l Subramaniam
You can also contact Mr Mogan at +6016-4823583 for more information.
We hope Mr Mogan is able to get the help he needs!
