THE funding in Budget 2022 for persons with disabilities (PwD) is much welcomed, Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) president Francis Siva said.

“We are glad that this budget gives importance to the PwD community.

“Credit must be given to the Finance Ministry for keeping us in mind when drafting the budget plans and we welcome the allocation given,” Francis told The Malaysian Insight.

When tabling Budget 2022, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the government would allocate RM30 million to upgrade infrastructure of government buildings to be more PwD-friendly while RM10 million will be used for PwD training and guidance programmes.

The government is also planning to develop a community rehabilitation programme, an early intervention medium for children with disabilities, to improve their skills and secure employment.

Currently only available at Universiti Sains Malaysia, the programme will be expanded to other public universities beginning next year.

Tengku Zafrul said the government would also provide a special quota of 1% through the short-term employment programme to ensure that young people with disabilities can find jobs.

The finance minister said employers who hire PwDs will receive a wage subsidy of 30% of the monthly salary for the first six months and 40% for the following six months.

Francis said the funding would prove the right springboard for the PwDs.

He urged the government to form a committee that includes PwDs, so that their opinions could be taken into consideration when implementing the pledges made in the budget.

“This is because it is people like us who are going to use these facilities. So, it would be great if we are given the opportunity to give our input on something that is made for us,” he said.

He also said that there should be a mechanism to monitor progress.

Subsidised driving licences

Tengku Zafrul’s announcement that the government would pay for driving licences for PwDs was also well-received.

“We had been wanting this for a long time. If I can recall, we made a request sometime in 2007 but it didn’t happen then.

“Now, this government has considered and agreed to make the full payment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Muhd Uthman from Petaling Jaya said this would help because he could use the saved money for other expenses.

“For some, this might not matter but for people like us, this makes a difference.

“I’m happy that the government is doing its best for us. Hope it gets better over the years and that this sets a benchmark,” the 31-year-old said.

Under Budget 2022, the government committed RM10 million to improve sports training programmes and to build a sports league for disabled athletes. – December 27, 2021.