Recently, 17-year-old Sabahan, Zico Luck Elvister, won the 2020 SENIA World Changer Award. For those who are wondering, the SENIA World Changer Award is an award that recognizes an individual who actively promotes inclusion in their community.
What’s more amazing is that Zico is the first Malaysian student to receive the award. This young Sabahan is a student at Keningau Vocational College who mainly uses sign language due to his hearing impairment.
Despite his condition, Zico has inspired students of special needs and people from rural communities in the state of Sabah. Mainly due to his astonishing achievements in chess tournaments at the national and international levels.
Zico was the 1st runner up of the Malaysian Lions International English Chess Competition for the special needs category in 2019. He was also the 1st runner up for the same category in the National Malaysian Chess Tournament for the Disabled that same year.
Though he comes from an economically disadvantaged and remote area, Zico still managed to achieve amazing feats at a young age. With all that he has accomplished, he has certainly paved the way for other students of special needs to venture into chess tournaments and revived the community’s interest in the sport.
We are truly proud of what Zico has achieved and glad to see young Malaysians representing the country on a global scale.
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