Two new categories for disabled people
KUALA LUMPUR: Two new categories of disabled people — those with speech and those with mental disability — have been created, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said.
Speaking to reporters after launching the ‘Day For The Handicapped’ at the national level, here yesterday, Shahrizat said the two new categories were created following feedback from government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the disabled people themselves who wanted a more comprehensive handicapped category to be introduced in line with the current requirements and definition adopted in the Persons With Disabilities Act 2008.
“Handicapped people categorised under speech disability are those who have difficulty to speak to the extent of hindering communication when interacting with other people such as aphonia (not having any voice) and dysarthria (unable to speak),” she said.
Mental disability, refers to people suffering from mental illness such as schizophrenia, mood disorder and serious and chronic organic mental disorder and had undergone psychiatric treatment for at least two years.
The existing categories used in registering disabled people are multiple disabilities; people with impaired vision; hearing disability; physical impairment and learning difficulty, said Shahrizat.
She said that in the 2010 Budget, the government had allocated RM224 million for the disabled.
Next year, the ministry would concentrate on creating job opportunities for the handicapped and their accessibility to buildings, she said.
Shahrizat said she was still not satisfied as there were still many offices, public places and public transport that were not disabled-friendly.
Bernama
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