PETALING JAYA: The government has approved RM900,000 to set up two facilities for Persons with Disabilities (OKU).
Deputy of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh is hopeful that the Finance Ministry could allocate more as these two are insufficient for the 549,000 registered OKU in the country.
It has granted the amount to set up two Independent Living Centre (ILC) in Petaling Jaya and Bangi instead of the requested seven centres.
“We are now able to train personal assistants (PA) at the centres to help OKU live independently,” Yeoh said. “This is made possible through a joint effort by the Malaysia Independent Living Association for Disable (Milad) and the Department of OKU Development (JPOKU).
The ILC would also provide counselling services, advocacy programmes, act as information centres and provide PA services.
The two ILC have 25 PA. To qualify as a PA, interested individuals need to go through 20 hours of training by Milad.
OKU, who requires PA services, will only need to pay RM5 per hour and PA will get allowance of RM20 per hour.
“We are at the pioneering stage. There is a huge potential to develop this into a professional career,“ Yeoh said.
