Malaysia encourages disabled people to register for services

From Bernama in Malaysia:

KUALA LUMPUR -- Though the government estimates that there are about 1.3 million people with various forms of disability, yet only 233,939 of them have registered with the Welfare Services Department.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Noriah Kasnon recently noted that the statistics failed to provide the actual picture of the disabled in the country.

She noted that the low numbers of those registered had created problems in formulating policies that advocate the well being of the people with disabilities.

The Ministry has set up the National Council for Persons with Disabilities chaired by its minister, Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, to supervise, coordinate and monitor the national policies relating to Persons With Disabilities Act gazetted Aug 7 last year.

Maybe the awareness is still lacking among the persons with disabilities and their family members on their rights and privileges especially relating to health facilities, education, information, communication and technology, sports activities, leisure and culture.

The Persons With Disabilities Act 2007, defines people with disabilities as those who 'lack the long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory abilities, when met with various obstacles, preventing their full interaction with the society'.

For the disabled, who are officially named as the 'Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) in Malaysia, they have to produce their respective OKU cards for verification if they wish to obtain assistance from the JKM as well as the other government and private agencies.

This card can be obtained upon registration with the respective district JKM office.