KUALA LUMPUR: Education is vital for developing a productive community and is especially crucial for disabled people and single mothers to help them become financially independent.
Society of Orthopaedically Handicapped Malaysia secretary-general Miskan Kasiman said his association had submitted a memorandum with a wish list for Budget 2018 to the Finance Ministry to help their community.
He said it was hard for physically disabled children to get an education as most schools were not equipped with facilities for students in wheelchairs and teachers did not know how to teach students who had no hands to write.
“Education is really important. I hope the government will build schools that are accessible for the physically-disabled,” he said.
“Most of the time, a physically-disabled person can still attend mainstream schools, unlike the deaf or blind.
“The government should have one school in every sub-district that caters to the disabled population,” he said, adding that 15 per cent of the country’s population were disabled.
Meanwhile, the Orang Asli Community in Batu 22, Kampung Orang Asli, Kuala Pongsun in Hulu Langat expressed the hope that the government would provide basic necessities for all Orang Asli villages.
The village chief, Tok Batin Andak Pendek, said his community wanted the government to install streetlights in the village.
“I believe our village is not the only one facing that problem. Most Orang Asli villages also have the same problem.”