Budget 2022 positive for persons with disabilities

KUALA LUMPUR: Damai Disabled Person Association Malaysia president Murugeswaran Veerasamy described the 2022 Budget unveiled today as tremendously positive and could be developed further.

"I welcome the 2022 Budget. Various allocations were given to empower persons with disabilities (PwD) such as in terms of training, incentives for employers to create employment opportunities for the disabled, education, infrastructure upgrades and early intervention for disabled children.

"It is seen as the first positive step that I hope will be continued and will be expanded in the future," he told Bernama when contacted.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, when tabling the budget in the Dewan Rakyat, said the government would allocate RM30 million to upgrade infrastructure of government buildings to be more PwD-friendly while RM10 million will also be allocated to implement training and guidance programmes for the disabled.

The government, he said, would also provide a special quota of one per cent through the Short-Term Employment Programme (MySTEP) to ensure that young people with disabilities enter the field of employment.

Murugeswaran also hopes that the government can provide a special allocation for the disabled to buy laptops to make it easier for them to venture into online business during the COVID-19 pandemic season.

Meanwhile, member of the National Council for the PwD Francis Johen Adam said Budget 2022 was a fair distribution of funds and aid to all levels of society.

"The government's decision to fully pay for motor vehicle licences for all private vehicles owned PwDs is a good move because it will benefit the group.

"The RM30 million allocation is also seen as the right action. It is hoped that priority would be given to government buildings that are often visited by the disabled," he said.

Francis Johen said the government also needed to provide more PwD-friendly public facilities in schools and universities.

"For MySTEP's one per cent quota for the disabled, there must be a proper mechanism to monitor its progress or success," he said.

-- BERNAMA