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By William Isau
SIBU, June 11: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Dudong chairman, Wong Ching Yong has kept his promise by donating RM5,000 to Sibu Autistic Association (SAA).
The money was part of the award from his recent litigation against the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).
“Federal Court awarded me RM30,000 and Court of Appeal awarded me another RM10,000 after winning a case against MIA.
“The total award is RM40,000 so I take out RM 5,000 to donate it to SAA today. The rest I will pay to my legal counsels as disbursement,” he said when presenting the cheque to SAA at Farley Cafe here today.
Wong said that his motivation for supporting SAA stemmed from their aspiration to construct a dedicated shelter for individuals with autism.
Meanwhile, SAA president David Ngu while expressing his gratitude for the donation said that they had received approval to commence the project estimated to cost over RM3 million.
“We are going to build the building for our autistic children and adults as Wong mentioned before. So, this project will cost more than RM3 million and we have received approval to commence it.
“As we all know, cases of autism is getting higher. In Sibu alone there are more than 130 cases per year. So, this is very common nowadays,” he said.
Ngu also said that SAA was formed to help persons with autism so that they can engage with the community as soon as possible.
“The way they learn is different than us (people without autism). So, this is the reason why the formation of SAA is to help them. Our current premises are very limited and only can accommodate a max capacity of around 50 to 60 people.
“As I said just now there are more than 130 cases diagnosed per year, so it means that we need more places to shelter them,” he stressed.
The planned new building which will be located on a 1.5-acre piece of land adjacent to Agape Centre’s carpark in Jalan Alan, aims to cater to approximately 200 children.
The facility’s layout includes an office on the ground floor, classrooms on the first floor, and a therapy hall on the third floor.
Also present was SUPP Dudong honorary chairman Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck. — DayakDaily
