Dr Sim (fourth right) is seen during a photo call. From third left are Dr Tang, Teng, Chung, and Alexander.
KUCHING: The Sarawak Hearing and Aural Rehabilitation Society (Sarawak Hear) will hold a charity concert dinner on Feb 15 to raise funds for the underprivileged hearing-impaired and their families.
To be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, the event themed ‘My Hearing, My Life, My Style’ aims to raise up to RM300,000.
In announcing the event, Minister of Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said he hoped the fundraiser would receive support.
“The targeted amount for the charity dinner is a very modest one made by the society, but I believe and hope that the people will contribute towards this noble cause,” he told a press conference Friday.
Dr Sim pointed out hearing problems affect between one and five children out of every 1,000 births. He said devices to assist the hearing-impaired can cost between RM70,000 and RM80,000.
Dr Sim added Sarawak has the local expertise and facilities to help hearing-impaired patients, having carried out the first auditory brain stem implant in the county in 2016.
Among those present at the press conference were Sarawak Hear president Prof Dr Tang Ing Ping, dinner organising chairman Alexander Stephen, and two hearing-impaired children who have successfully undergone the operation – Misshapeng Teng and Sampson Chung.