Hannah Yeoh – Bernama file photo
KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Minister will intensify efforts to encourage parents and guardians to register their children or disabled family members with the Social Welfare (JKM) Department through the “Jom Daftar” programme.
Its deputy minister Hannah Yeoh said the programme, which had already been implemented by the Persons with Disabilities Development Department and JKM would focus more on activities on the ground as well as rural and the interior areas.
“For example some families in rural areas, they might not even know certain things called autism, that’s why we have to get to the ground…we will go to Lawas, Sarawak in February next year (for the “Jom Daftar” programme).
“We have also told MPs (members of Parliament) to help the Persons with Disabilities Development Department and think about how to register persons with disabilities (OKU) in their respective constituencies,” she said after officiating the Malaysia Applied Behaviour Analysis Symposium here today.
Yeoh said it was important for parents and guardians to register their OKU children or family members to get the aids and ensure their needs were well taken care of.
She also believed that the number of OKU in the country was higher than the current 500,000 registered disabled people.
Yeoh said this was due to the lack of awareness on the importance of registering OKU with JKM and the stigma towards disabled people. – Bernama