Parent’s expectation: Fintan (left) stresses the need for further empowerment for people with disabilities, including his son, Gerard, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome. — Photo courtesy of Fitan
PETALING JAYA: For many parents of children with special needs, Budget 2024 has brought some relief.
Fintan Romuald Inbaraj Nicholas, 52, who has a teenager with Down syndrome, acknowledges the increase in assistance in Budget 2024 for children with learning difficulties.
“Overall, Budget 2024 provides some relief for people with disabilities. However, there is a need for further empowerment.
“The most common grouse is that there is no tax relief for therapy classes, which are essential for children with special needs.
“While government hospitals do provide this, it is not enough, and parents have to send their kids for additional lessons to ensure their children reach their full potential.
“Speech and occupational therapies are especially crucial. I would like to see these services become a norm for children with learning difficulties, rather than relying on parents to seek out establishments independently to guide their children,” says the Kuala Lumpur-based businessman.
OKU Sentral president Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi lauds Budget 2024 for its focus on the development and empowerment of the disabled community.
“I welcome the implementation of the Madani Training Programme, which includes retraining and skill enhancement for disabled and senior citizens. Additionally, the Social Security Organisation (Socso) will provide a special incentive of RM1,500 per month for six months to employ (those from) the vulnerable groups.
“This effort will help the disabled to secure employment that is commensurate with their qualifications, thus reducing the unemployment rate among young disabled individuals.
“The government must find ways to ensure the disabled are not left behind in the job market and are provided with ‘dignified wages’.”
When tabling Budget 2024, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government was continuing its efforts to employ vulnerable groups through the MYFutureJobs employment matching and MyStep programmes.
Ras Adiba is pleased with this news.
“Through these programmes, vulnerable groups will be offered contract placements with an allowance of RM1,500 for a period of six months in various ministries, government-linked investment companies, and government-linked companies, as well as government strategic partners.
“I urge the government to emphasise the importance of permanent employment because the MyStep initiative only addresses the short-term needs of the disabled community.
“Employment security for the disabled should be discussed in the National Employment Council involving disabled experts,” she said.
Ras Adiba said these provisions emphasised the importance of adequate support to ensure a dignified life for the disabled community.
She urged the government to continue protecting and empowering the disabled, saying the initiatives unveiled in the budget were essential for the holistic development and well-being of the community.
However, National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom) chairman Julian Wong said there seemed to be limited coverage to address the specific needs and challenges faced by the disabled community.
“It is limited to assistance for bedridden disabled persons, disabled persons without the ability to work, and allowance for disabled workers.
“With rising costs that affect all communities, there needs to be more assistance provided for the disabled communities and their caregivers, like parents or relatives, to ease their financial burden,” he said.
Wong acknowledges certain improvements in the Budget, saying: “There are improvements, such as increasing the allowance (for participants) in the Community Rehabilitation Programme (from RM150) to RM300 per month, which will benefit disabled trainees.”
However, he expressed concern about the lack of support for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) offering early intervention and vocational programmes.
“While RM30mil will be allocated to supply equipment for special education, this seems to be limited to government schools.
“The government should look more seriously into providing assistance to families in the B40 and M40 groups that have special needs children due to rising costs in various developmental programmes,” he said.
He highlighted the need for budget allocation to enhance specialised services in general hospitals, such as speech therapy.
“Private centres now charge anything from RM1,500 to RM10,000 per person per month for various developmental programmes which are out of reach for many.
“For Nasom, while our fees remain affordable, we have reached maximum capacity and are unable to expand to help more children on the spectrum,” Wong added.
