REACHING OUT: Mordiah (standing right) speaking to SBM members as they wait for their turns at the OKU registration roadshow.
KUCHING: Persons with disabilities are urged to register with the Social Welfare Department so that they will receive their individual OKU card.
“The OKU card enables others to identify them as persons with disabilities so they will be entitled to certain facilities and support.
“These include road tax exemption for those using national vehicles, discounts on bus fares and domestic flights and medical fee exemption at government hospitals among many others.
“Those registered will also get financial aid and those with specific disability such as the blind will be given white canes and the deaf given hearing aid,” said state assistant director Mordiah Sulaiman.
She was speaking to reporters at an OKU registration roadshow, jointly organised with Society of the Blind Malaysia (SBM) yesterday.
“We have started to register OKU since August 2011 but there are many still unregistered in the state.
“There are many reasons for this including the difficulty for those staying far away to come out to register and also those who need medical verification of their disabilities.
“That is why the department does from time to time this kind of roadshow where we go to NGOs such as SBM, schools or even villages to reach out to the disabled to register them or replace their old card with the new OKU card format,” she explained.
Mordiah said the department tries its best to help those in need.
“Any NGO or association that needs help with the registration of disabled people can actually write to us and we will go to them,” she said.
A total of 30 members of SBM turned up either to replace their old cards or register with the department.