Koh, who has been selling tissues and covers since 2019, is used to people not believing her.
Back when she was selling tissues around Bandar Perda in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, to eke out a living, locals there often hurled abuses and insults at her and even accused Koh of being a foreigner.
In an interview with Berita Harian in October 2019, Koh had stated that people accused her of “being used by syndicates” to collect easy money through donations, while others ridiculed her by saying she was either Vietnamese, Thai, or Filipino and demanded that she show her MyKad to prove otherwise.
She, however, no longer entertain such people who demand that she show them her MyKad as she has developed a deep fear after one such person snatched her MyKad and ran away with it.
“Of course, I’m disappointed with people’s perception of me. I’m trying to earn an honest living by selling tissue paper. I’m not asking for donations. Many people look down on what I do. They don’t know that I was a former para-athlete,” the seven-time gold medalist was quoted as saying.