KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly 290,000 individuals in the country have been identified as Persons with Disabilities (PwD) (Learning) this year, said Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said that as of Oct 31, a total of 289,161 people were registered as persons with learning disabilities, which is 26,878 more than the 262,283 people registered last year.
“This is a good sign as more parents are becoming aware of the need to register their children with learning disabilities, and this will help eliminate the stigma associated with children with this disability,“ she said while speaking at the national-level OKU Day 2024 celebration here today. The event was also attended by Deputy KPWKM Minsiter Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad and Senator Isaiah Jacob.
In this regard, Nancy emphasised the need to provide comprehensive modules or guidelines to protect, support and empower the disabled community, in line with the increasing number of registrations.
“Therefore, the ministry (KPWKM) has established various strategic collaborations with universities to develop the Child Care and Education Module for Persons with Disabilities to ensure that this group is not left behind in the mainstream world,“ she said.
She said that in the development of the module, the Social Welfare Department (JKM) collaborated with three local universities, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia, which was responsible for the Development of the Generic Learning Module for Care and Education of Children with Disabilities; Universiti Malaya, for the Development of Care and Nurturing Modules for Children with Autism Disabilities; and the International Islamic University Malaysia, which was involved in the development of Care and Nurturing Modules for Children with Down syndrome disabilities.
Nancy also urged parents to register their children with disabilities because the data will be used for the government’s long-term development planning for the disabled community.
At the event, Nancy presented nine awards to recognise the achievements of individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to the disabled community, including the Special Award for the Disabled (Academic), Special Award for the Disabled (Entrepreneur), Exemplary Parent Award for the Disabled, and the Caring Employer Award (private).
When speaking to reporters after the event, Nancy said that in line with the theme ‘Empowering the Leadership of Persons with Disabilities for Sustainable Inclusivity’, JKM will continue to intensify efforts to raise public awareness about the importance of registering as PWDs by opening registration counters at various locations.
“Many have not registered yet because they do not know the benefits they can enjoy, such as free passports, free public transport usage and special parking facilities,“ she also said.
However, after being informed about these privileges, most of them began to show interest in registering, she added.