On an uneventful day in 1961, John Ng Keng Chuan was born in Petaling Jaya, a healthy and normal baby.

However, he was somehow overlooked by the hospital for a polio vaccine. It was an administrative mistake that would alter the course of his life.

When John was three years old, he came down with a fever that lasted two weeks. Then, his legs gave way.

“Doctors confirmed it was polio, an infectious disease that affects the nervous system and the muscles. Until today, my left leg is completely without strength whilst my right leg is about 40% affected,” John told Salt&Light.

As a young teenager, he underwent corrective surgery so that he could wear shoes. With a brace, he was able to walk. 

John was focused on excelling at everything he put his mind to, staying healthy and figuring out who he wanted to be. 

From a young age, he had been curious about Christianity after singing Sunday School songs and listening to stories about Jesus at a neighbour’s house, but he did not understand the Good News.

Discovering Christianity, “a rational faith”

John grew up with a mother who was a devout follower of an Eastern religion. A “prayer warrior” who could meditate and chant for five to six hours every day, she has since come to Christ.

“Back then, I would join her chanting together for several hours, but it felt empty. It was always just asking for blessings and favours,” he said. 

When John was 16, a neighbour invited him to a nearby church. There, he heard about this Person called Jesus Christ for the first time. 

“After reading the Bible, I find that Christianity is a rational faith,” he said. “It wasn’t about me chanting incessantly to a god somewhere out there, but an opportunity for me to have a real and personal relationship with my God.” 

From that time onwards, he committed himself to the church and community, even joining a travelling cantata in the 1980s. Surprisingly, his legs found the strength to keep him standing for the entire set, which lasted more than an hour.

John (pictured here with his wife) was called to the bar in Middle Temple, London.

After high school, John pursued a law degree in Cardiff, Wales, passed the UK Bar and returned to Malaysia to begin his law career. 

Spiritual reawakening

As a young lawyer in his 20s trying to catch his break, John put his faith in the backseat.

“I threw myself into my work and slowly drifted away from God, eventually stopping church altogether,” he admitted.

For the first few years, things went according to plan. He began to carve a name for himself in corporate law and, armed with the gift of the gab, built a steady stream of clientele. 

Everything seemed glossy from outside. Partners were happy. Clients were satisfied. But within the young man was turbulence and turmoil. He felt a gnawing emptiness, a lack of purpose and clear direction.

One Christmas season, he reached out to the same neighbour who had first introduced him to Jesus to ask about Christmas service. It was a quiet yearning within, he later realised, that prompted him to seek a church.

“I had once tasted God’s goodness and been close to Him. I believe no matter how far one backslides, our spirit will always desire that connection back to Him because we know that only He can give us real joy and contentment,” he said.

Hopeful, he went to his friend’s church. “It’s a charismatic church and very different from the church I had been saved and grew up in,” John said with a chuckle. 

John with his neighbour, Mun Tor, who first led him to Jesus, and later brought him to his church. Mun Tor attended John’s LLB graduation.

At the service, the yearning within him was met. It was as if he had come home and back into the fold of the Good Shepherd. He knew it was God calling. 

He planted himself in the church, where he spent happy hours digging into God’s Word and serving in various ministries over 18 years. 

As his faith deepened, he became spiritually more alert.

God makes a way

John began to realise that the work culture of client entertainment wasn’t conducive to a healthy family life. 

“Having to entertain clients meant dinners after work, lots of drinking and conversations that could be coarse in nature. I just started feeling uncomfortable,” he reminisced.

He could not see a way out of it, but he prayed and surrendered it to God. 

Out of the blue, an article appeared in the newspaper one day. “It was a call for para table tennis players to audition for the national team,” John said. 

John (left) with a South Korean Paralympics medalist he defeated once before his injury.

At the time, he was already playing actively at his social club’s table tennis tournaments (open to all able-bodied and disabled alike) and had been named club champion in 2005.

When he saw the article, he thought: “Why not?”

Para sports are competitive sports played by athletes with a disability, including physical and intellectual. These sports are usually based on existing sports or designed specifically for disabled athletes. 

Para table tennis is governed by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The usual table tennis rules are in effect with some modifications for wheelchair athletes.

Excited at the opportunity to play at a higher competitive level, John went for tryouts and made the cut. Only later did he realise that more than making the national team, God had answered his prayer.

As athletes must watch their alcohol intake and lifestyle, John finally had a valid reason to refrain from regular drinking and regularly entertaining clients.

God had made a way.

Ending the medal drought

In table tennis, John thrived. Within five years as a national para-athlete, he clinched the gold medal at the ASEAN Para Games. Fired up, he set his eyes on the Beijing Paralympics in 2008. 

John (far right) holding his medals won at the ASEAN Para Games.

However, he suffered a serious spinal injury during a qualifying match in Taipei, resulting in a prolapsed disc. Due to his polio condition and the spinal injury, doctors advised him to lay down the bat for good. 

It shattered his dreams of making it to the Paralympics, but God had an even bigger plan for him.

To his surprise, the Board of Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) appointed him to be the Chef de Mission that year. He led the team to Beijing with a prayer in his heart.

“Since 1992 – for a span of 16 years – Malaysia had not won a medal at the Paralympic Games,” he said. “I prayed, asking God to break this drought. And He did, in the most miraculous way.” 

One of the female powerlifters, Siow Lee Chan, was a potential medallist. Her personal best was close to 90kg (90kg had clinched the bronze medal in the previous Paralympics).

John was confident that if she could lift at least that, she could win a bronze.

Lifter Siow Lee Chan broke Malaysia’s medal drought with her 2008 bronze win. Photo from Siow Lee Chan’s blog.

But a week before the competition, she tore her muscle on her arm. As she was also a Christian, John counselled her and prayed with her every night until the day of competition, reassuring her that God’s presence was with her every step of the way.

“You had to witness it yourself: On the competition day she lifted 95kg and delivered a bronze for Malaysia,” he recalled excitedly.

“She called me up later to tell me she had not forgotten my reminder after her win to give glory to God – which she did at the press conference – and to tithe 10% of her winnings.”

Advancing the rights of para-athletes

After Beijing, John was asked to join the PCM and was appointed vice president in 2007. In 2015, he was elected Deputy President. The committee voiced hope that he would elevate para sports in Malaysia and improve the lives of para athletes. 

It was a task he was glad to take up. As a Christian, he had always carried a desire to uplift the disabled community.

John (second row, third from right) with the Malaysian contingent to the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.

John with the Brazilian Paralympics team.

John with the Vietnamese Paralympic table tennis team.

He had three objectives in his new role: To uplift the livelihoods of para-athletes through appropriate full-time and part-time allowances, achieving incentives equal to able-bodied athletes and ensuring post-retirement care through pensions. 

For a long time, para-athletes in Malaysia were not duly recognised nor rewarded. Media coverage of para-sports was sparse and public awareness was low. 

“In Malaysia at the time, para-athletes were not given equal incentives. An Olympian gold medallist would get RM1 million whereas a Paralympian gold medallist would get less than half of the amount,” he explained.  

Then in 2016, Malaysia’s Olympic contingent returned from Rio de Janeiro without a gold medal. 

Knowing a golden opportunity had presented itself, John and a few others approached the then Youth and Sports Minister, YB Khairy Jamaluddin, to make their request for the incentive for a Paralympic gold to be raised to RM1 million.

“When the Minister finally agreed, we informed our para-athletes of the good news and spurred them to do their best at the Paralympics that year,” John told Salt&Light.

By this time, the para-athletes were already given full time and part time allowances as medals and trophies were consistently won at para championships and competitions around the world.  

No Malaysian para-athlete had ever won a gold medal in Paralympic history, but in 2016, the Malaysian para contingent brought home not one, but three gold medals from Rio.

Although an injury dashed John’s dreams of participating in the Beijing Paralympics, God gave him his heart’s desire when the PCM appointed him to be the Chef de Mission that year.

The joy on the para-athletes’ faces and the pride of their families in a society where the disabled are still hidden away in shame, reminded John of his God-given gifts to use them for the glory of God. 

“It doesn’t end there. The Minister was so happy that he also agreed to a pension scheme for retired para-athletes, so my final remaining goal was achieved. It was a breakthrough year,” John said with a beaming smile. 

Rising in the ranks

Since then, the lawyer and advocate has moved into the international arena. He was an elected Board Member of the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) from 2019-2024 and represented Asia region in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Para division. 

He is currently in his second term as Chair of the Legal and Ethics Committee for APC, where he advises and supports APC on matters pertaining to law and ethical practices. 

John chairs the Legal and Ethics Committee for APC.

“As a lawyer, my two core values are honesty and integrity. These are my pillars in all of my work, whether in my law firm or in positions within the para sports space,” he said firmly.

When John became Deputy President of PCM, he knew it was the Lord who had placed him there and sought to be faithful in being honest, upright and just. 

“For example, I was empowered to appoint the Chef de Mission for the nation’s contingent. Traditionally, it would be a government official or VIP. I chose instead to appoint a retired Paralympic medalist on a performance and merit basis without regard to race, ethnicity or religion,” he shared. 

The move ruffled more than a few feathers, but John stood by his decision, stating the appointment was deserving as well as an acknowledgment of the athlete’s contribution to Malaysia. 

“I stood by my decision, and it was accepted by all in due course. If I am able-bodied, I would never have understood the struggles of the disabled community. I would not have had the opportunity to carry that struggle and represent them,” the 63-year-old concluded.

Staying faithful to the call

John has never questioned why God allowed him to miss his polio vaccine, causing him to live with a disease that has no cure.

Instead, he is grateful and finds it an honour that God has given him the opportunity to serve the marginalised. As Jesus said, “When you serve the least, you serve Me”.

“Psalm 46:10 is my anchoring verse: ‘Be still and know that I am God’,” he declared. “Every good thing we have comes from Him. Who are we to hoard what we have been blessed with, or make demands?” 

God has been gracious to him. His career as a lawyer has been successful and filled with favour. He got married at the age of 30 to a wonderful wife, and they have four lovely children.

One of life’s greatest blessings for John is his wonderful wife and four amazing children. His second daughter, Tiffany, is a cancer survivor.

One of his daughters was diagnosed with Stage 4 leukemia when she was 18. She is now in her 13th year of remission. It is a miracle, John acknowledges, and one that reminds him that God cares, loves and is in control. 

“The Word of God opened me up to abundant life and showed me the Truth. He is the First and the Last. Apart from Him, we have nothing. So, whether it’s my disability or my child’s health crisis, I accepted it because at the end of it all, I believed He wants the best for me (Jer 29:11),” he said. 

Even as age has led him to slow down in his career, John hopes to continue advancing the para movement and doing God’s bidding as and when He calls. 

He acknowledged matter-of-factly that he is disabled, rejecting other terms such as “differently abled”. “It is who I am to this day. When I recognise my disability, I can truly rely on Him,” he told Salt&Light, quoting Philippians 4:13 and 2 Corinthians 12:9 as verses that strengthen him.

“We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us… His power is made perfect in our weakness”. 

“I look for opportunities to express God’s love to others, uplift their well-being and just be faithful in whatever He calls me to because He is a faithful and loving God.

“I find fulfilment by living a purpose-driven life anchored in faithful devotion to God.” 

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“Till we meet again, Harold boy”