S’wak to have nation’s first Special Needs Community Centre
At SNCC, the whole spectrum of needs of persons with disabilities, from young to adulthood is being catered for.
Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: Sarawak will be the first in the country to have a Special Needs Community Centre (SNCC) which is expected to be completed in December 2025, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister said the SNCC is a functional well-integrated and one-stop community centre for the special needs community under one roof.
She added that the SNCC was approved with a scheme value of RM55 million under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“At SNCC, the whole spectrum of needs of persons with disabilities, from young to adulthood is being catered for.
“There will be access to diagnosis, early intervention, primary and secondary education, vocational training, sheltered workshop, day care centre, sports and recreation and full-time residential home,” she said at the ‘Sambutan Hari Kebersamaan Ke Arah Kesejahteraan’ event at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching yesterday.
The event was officiated by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
Fatimah said the SNCC will also have a pool of professional support group consisting special education teachers, physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists to provide counselling and guidance for students, parents and teachers
Skills training, with certification where possible, is provided to equip the persons with disabilities with the necessary skills so that they will be employable in the job market or to become entrepreneurs, she added.
“Datuk Amar (Awang Tengah), we need your help to allocate us a piece of land about 10 to 20 acres for SNCC,” she said.
Fatimah said both the SNCC and One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (Oseic) in Kuching will complement one another and also expand the services at the Community-Based-Rehabilitation Centres that are funded by the federal government.
At the event, the ‘OKU Empowerment in Sarawak’ book was also launched, as well as presentation of awards to the persons with disabilities for their outstanding achievements in sports, successful welfare micro entrepreneurs and outstanding non-governmental organisations.