People with disabilities want jobs, better facilities – association
KOTA KINABALU: Budget 2018 which was presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the Parliament on Friday was “very brief”, according to Kota Kinabalu Wheelchair Association (Peroda) chairman Fariz A Rani .
“The Budget 2018 was very brief. Many of us (the disabled people) have voiced our dissatisfaction over it because it was too brief.
“The increment of allowance was mentioned repeatedly. What we really want in the budget is more towards the development of the disabled in terms of jobs, self and economic development. The budget was supposed to go towards that.
“We hope that such things would be emphasized in the next budget. I am not speaking only on my part, this was voiced out by a majority in the disabled community. They (the disabled) feel the things given in the recent budget was very basic.
“The increment of allowance for employees or disabled people actually does not give a big impact. For example, RM350 increased to RM400. That is only for myself (individually) but if the money is used for facilities, it would be better,” he explained.
Fariz was met during the WalkWheelathon programme held at Likas Bay here yesterday.
He also commented that although the government was very supportive in providing facilities for disabled people, the facilities provided were still very basic and insufficient.
“More disabled people could appear within the community if the facilities are complete. For example, there are some (the disabled) who could not go to school due to wheelchair and so the person is left behind in education.
‘When there is no education, he cannot work and when there is no work, he does not go out of his house, he stays home.
“It is related to one another. This goes the same way for public transportation. We cannot get on a bus. If he has education but there is no bus he can get on, it will be the same thing, he stays home.
“So, the facility must be complete and for now, the facilities are there but incomplete,” he elaborated.
Meanwhile, a 45-year-old administration civil employee at a government department in Labuan said the special payment of RM1,500 was not entirely good news to her.
Nur Afiqah (not her real name), who neither wants to reveal her name nor allow her picture to be taken, expressed her dissatisfaction on the recent Budget 2018 regarding basic salary in the government sector. She said there was no increment in basic salary given to civil servants for the past few years and that the special payment for civil servants was insufficient to help the people in today’s economy.
Thus, the government should look again into the salary issue and take into account seniority and grade of the employee in order to be fairer, she added.
Meanwhile, a father of four children, including a 12-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair, felt that the Budget 2018 was very special.
Amirhad Yunus, 46, who worked as an administration assistant at the Printing Department here said the budget presented by the Prime Minister was indeed the ‘Mother of All Budgets’.
He said it was a very good and comprehensive budget which benefitted people of all levels and would help those especially in the rural areas.
“Parents who have disabled children like us, we feel very happy with the increment in allowance for the disabled. Alhamdulillah (praise to Allah).
“The Prime Minister is very concerned not only towards the development of the nation but also to the people in Sabah,” he said.