KUCHING, April 11: Dayak Nation Institute (DANI) is appealing to the government to increase the budget for people with disabilities and to enforce the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008.
DANI says the Act should be enforced to protect the rights of people with special needs in Sarawak and Malaysia and not used merely as a guideline.
“The term ‘OKU’ (people lacking ability) should also be replaced with a more friendly term such as ‘people with special needs’ as what is done in Europe.
“In Europe, the governments provide facilities for this group of people but in Malaysia, their rights are neglected. We hope our government will look into this matter,” said DANI in a press statement today.
Meanwhile, DANI launched a fundraising effort for Annuar Putit to replace his old wheelchair on March 19.
The self-dependent Annuar, better known as Fedelize Givan, is from Gayau Padok Simunjan and works as a sales consultant in Kuching and is a DANI member.
The fundraising event was a success and DANI chairman Rapelson Richard Hamit together with DANI programme coordinator William Mangor handed over the cheque to Annuar today.
Annuar was able to get a new wheelchair with the government bearing part of cost while DANI helped to raise funds for the remainder. — DayakDaily
