Fatimah (fourth from left), with Ng on her right, leads the cake-cutting ceremony. Behind the minister is Zaidi.
KUCHING: Parents with children with special needs are encouraged to register with the Welfare Department to enable them apply for Disabled Workers Allowance, at RM350 per month.
In her advice, Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said these parents could do this through the Society for Parents of Children with Special Needs (Pibakat) of Sarawak, of which personnel could provide assistance to them.
“Pibakat can assist with families who have disabled children who are working. It does not matter whether your child is working for the family, self-employed or working for an employer. You can apply for the allowance as long as your disabled child’s monthly emolument is less than RM1,200 per month,” she said at the Pibakat Merdeka Raya dinner on Thursday.
Pibakat, through its community-based rehabilitation centres (CBR), remains committed to improving the lives of children diagnosed with various disabilities like Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and Angelman syndrome.
In her remarks, Fatimah said although Pibakat ran many programmes, it still needed involvement from parents.
The minister, who is also Pibakat patron, added that sending disabled children to CBR would enable them not only to be independent but also to gain practical skills.
“As parents, we cannot be with our children all the time. Parents will get many advantages by joining Pibakat, as they would learn about facing and addressing challenges in raising children with special needs. They must remember that they are never alone.”
According to statistics from January to June this year, there are 47 CBRs across the state’s 11 divisions, manned by 2,360 trainees.
Later at the event, Fatimah presented an allocation of RM6,000 from her Minor Rural Project grant to Pibakat.
Earlier, Pibakat president Zaidi Ahmad said Pibakat ran three programmes — CBR 1, CBR 2 and the latest, ‘Morning Glory’.
CBR 1 is early intervention programme for children up to six years old held twice weekly, while CBR 2 focuses more on training skills and economic empowerment for young adults above 17 years of age.
Pibakat also has a special daycare for children with severe disability. This facility is meant for working parents.
“The ‘Morning Glory’ was set up in December last year. It serves to educate disabled children to do basic and simple work like horticulture, with the objective of helping them to be economically-empowered and independent,” he said.
CBR 1 chairperson Ng Kui Choo was also present at the event.