KUCHING: A 29-acre site in Matang area has been identified for the establishment of Sarawak’s very own Special Needs Community Centre (SNCC).
Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the state government had approved this project under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) with an allocation of RM55 million.
“We have a concept of the building and the components which must be available in SNCC. The centre will address the whole spectrum of the needs of people with disabilities (OKU), so it needs many components and thus a large area,” she said.
She said the Land and Survey Department (JTS) had allocated a 29-acre site.
“We need to go to the site to see it for ourselves on Monday (Feb 21). Only after that would be the next procedure of officially applying – the siting application,” she said, adding that upcoming processes would including building design planning and construction.
“The journey is still long, but it is the first step to bigger things,” she said during her session with Para SUKMA 2022 athletes at Imperial Hotel here today.
On the entire spectrum of needs of OKU addressed by SNCC, she said this included diagnosis and intervention, education, vocational training, employment, healthcare and welfare, advocacy of OKU rights, sports, and residential care for elderly OKU who do not have parents, siblings, or next-of-kin to care for them.
Meanwhile, Fatimah said the OKU Rehabilitation Centre in Samarahan was also in the process of being upgraded into a special needs’ excellence centre, especially for vocational training and sports.
She said the OKU Rehabilitation Centre had not been very popular among the OKU and offered training for more traditional skills such as sewing.
“It is time for us to rebrand and revamp, and we are rebranding it to become a centre of excellence. With that, we must see how we can offer courses which will be able to empower our OKU to get jobs – be it self-employment or working under employers,” she said.
She said this would include skills training in line with the current digital era.
“At the same time, we will also include sports elements, which is the centre of excellence for sports,” she said.
She said Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) was close to the centre and the university was very supportive of them.
“They have said that we can use their facilities for training any time. This means we can share what is available at UNIMAS, especially for activities such as swimming,” she said.
Fatimah said all these efforts were in line with Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) third pledge in its manifesto, namely “Guaranteeing Inclusive Equality Rights for All Sarawakians”.
“We want Sarawak to be an inclusive state. We will make sure that we walk the talk, because you (the OKU community) are a part of us. Together, we will prosper ourselves, our families, our community, and our beloved Sarawak,” she said.
