23,844 persons with disabilities registered with Welfare Dept
KOTA KINABALU: A total of 23,844 persons with disabilities (OKU) were registered with the State Welfare Department as of March 9, with 4,090 of them in Kota Kinabalu.
Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad said various forms of assistance and support had been provided for the group aimed to help improve their quality of life.
“To help ease the burden of this group, the state government is spending RM59,730 a month to provide financial aid under the Monthly General Assistance Scheme for those in Kota Kinabalu alone.
“Additionally, the federal government has also allocated RM483,300 to be distributed to OKUs in the same area through various assistance schemes,” she said in her officiating speech for the launching of the state-level ‘Kembara Kebajikan 1Malaysia’ (KK1M) programme at Kampung Darau here yesterday.
Her speech was delivered by Community Development and Consumer Affairs Ministry permanent secretary K L Chee who flagged off the convoy on her behalf.
Jainab also informed that there were 1,144 volunteers registered with the department, who provide care to the OKUs.
Out of this, 150 volunteers are involved in HOMEHELP, where they assist 451 senior citizens and 142 OKUs.
“We also have community-based rehabilitation centres that benefit both the OKUs and their families. In Kota Kinabalu alone 145 OKUs are trained at these centres,” she said.
The KK1M is a new programme introduced under the Seventh National Blue Ocean Strategy in 2014, with an aim to promote voluntarism among the community to help the OKUs.
For this year, KK1M will be held for 20 days, from March 11-19 in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, and from March 31 to April 9 in Peninsular Malaysia.
Starting from Lundu, Sarawak, where it was launched by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem, the programme will tour 19 locations across the country and ends at Bagan Datoh, Perak.
Coordinated by the Social Welfare Department of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, KK1M involves various government agencies, non-governmental organizations and corporate bodies.
Among the activities that have been lined up for the programme include ‘Gema Kasih@Kumuniti’, which is a series of activities focused on assisting the OKUs.
Under KK1M, participating volunteers will also be visiting welfare homes housing senior citizens and OKUs, where they will conduct various activities such as gotong royong to clean and repair the facilities, distribute food baskets and many more.