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OPENING SPEECH

BY

YBHG. DR. ROSE LENA BINTI LAZEMI SECRETARY GENERAL MINISTRY OF WOMEN,

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

FOR

“INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PERSON WITH DISABILITIES”

3RD DECEMBER 2016

GRAND DORSETT HOTEL, SUBANG

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Bismillahir Rahman Nirrahim

"In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Compassionate".

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh and a very good morning

to all of you.

YBhg. Datin Paduka Khatijah Sulaiman

President

Selangor Cheshire Home

YBhg. Datuk Rowland Chin Kok Fah

President

Malaysian Council of Cheshire Homes and Services (MCCHS)

YBrs. Dr. Sulaiman Abd. Mutalib

Deputy President

Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation

YH. Dato’ Setia Amar Segara Dato Sri Hj. Halim b. Hj. Ibrahim

President

Majlis Kebajikan & Pembangunan Masyarakat Kebangsaan Malaysia

(MAKPEM)

Ms. Karen Song

Vice Consular of British High Commissioner Kuala Lumpur

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Ms. Florence Mayol-Dupont

Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France in Malaysia

YBhg. Dato’ Hj. Zulkiply b. Ramli

Ketua Pengarah

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat

His Excellency Mr. Veali Vagi

High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea

Ms. Camelai Narcis Todose

Secretary & Deputy Head of Mission of Embassy of Romania

His Excellency Mr. Herman Prayitno

Duta Besar Republik Indonesia

Tan Sri – Tan Sri, Puan Sri – Puan Sri, Datuk – Datuk, Datin – Datin,

distinguish guests, ladies and gentlemen

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INTRODUCTION

1. First and foremost, may all praises be to the Almighty, by whose

Grace and Blessings, we are gathered here today to celebrate the

International Day for Persons with Disabilities. As we all know, this

celebration is marked and celebrated around the world, yearly on 3rd

December. Today’s celebration is a sign that our country is and will

always deliver its best for the well-being of all Persons with

Disabilities. It gives me great pleasure and indeed an honour for the

Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to be

invited as a guest to partake in the celebration of Persons with

Disabilities. With that, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the

Malaysian Council of Cheshire Home and Services, Selangor

Cheshire Homes and Malaysian Council for Rehabilitation in

organising this wonderful event.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

THE ELEVENTH MALAYSIA PLAN AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

2. According to the World Report on Disability 2010 published by the

World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank,

approximately 15% of every population in a country are persons

with disabilities. Based on the current population in Malaysia, this

would mean there are approximately 4.5 million Persons with

Disabilities in the country. As of November 2016, there are 404,260

Persons with Disabilities registered with the Department of Social

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Welfare. However, I believe that there are a lot more out there who

are not registered with us.

3. The theme of today’s celebration namely “Achieving 17 Goals for

Future We Want: Access for Persons with Disabilities in Education,

Employment and All Rights” is in line with the Eleventh Malaysia Plan

and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with their emphasis

on “no one should be left behind”.

4. As we all know, Malaysia has embarked on its five-year development

plan - the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, from 2016 to 2020. In many

aspects, the plan mirrors the multi-dimensional nature of the SDGs, and has been formulated with the people at the centre of all development efforts. Both the Eleventh Malaysia Plan and SDGs lay

the foundation for a future of greater inclusion for all, including

Persons with Disabilities.

5. In the Eleventh Malaysia Plan, the Government will continue to focus

on enhancing inclusiveness and equitable opportunities for all

Malaysians. For Persons with Disabilities, the focus of the Eleventh

Malaysia Plan is to provide a more conducive and friendly environment for active, productive and independent living. This

will be done through creating a friendly physical environment for

persons with disabilities and expanding training and skills

development to increase employability.

6. Barrier-free access to public places is an important element of independent living. To this end, the enforcement of the Uniform

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Building By-Laws for Universal Access 1984 will be strengthened to

ensure compliance with universal design and creating a disabled-

friendly physical environment. Existing government buildings will also

be upgraded in compliance with the By-Laws. To further encourage

independent living of persons with disabilities, community-based Independent Living Centres will be established with the

participation of NGOs. Through this Plan, the Government with the

cooperation of the private sector aims to add 7 new Independent

Living Centres throughout the country, which will benefit almost 11

thousand Persons with Disabilities.

7. During the 11th Malaysia Plan, more programmes will be implemented

to empower productive Persons with Disabilities. More access to basic education and skills training will be provided, including entrepreneurship, to build relevant skills among Persons with

Disabilities to further improve their employability by both the public

and private sector. For the public sector, the government has set a

target of at least 1% employability of Persons with Disabilities. Currently, there are almost 4 thousand persons with disabilities

serving in the public sector. Despite all these existing efforts, I believe

there is still room for improvement and more efforts to be undertaken

in ensuring the acceleration on the employability of Persons with

Disabilities.

8. In the recent 2017 Budget announcement, the government has

allocated a sum of RM535 million to Persons with Disabilities

including employee allowance, disabled children training allowance

and assistance for Persons with Disabilities who are unable to work.

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This assistance programme will benefit nearly 150,000 people.

Additionally, the government has also announced the Good &

Services Tax relief for the purchase of aid equipment for registered

Persons with Disabilities without having to go through Private Welfare

Entities.

MINISTRY OF WOMEN, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT’S EFFORTS

Ladies and Gentlemen,

9. In ensuring Persons with Disabilities enjoy equal opportunities, full

participation in the society and be mainstreamed into the national

agenda, Malaysia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities on 19 July 2010, thus joining the global

community in affirming the human rights of persons with disabilities.

10. Prior to that, the government had formulated the Policy and Plan of

Action for the Persons with Disabilities in 2007, and enacted the

Persons with Disabilities Act 2008. In addition, the government had

established the National Council for Persons with Disabilities in

August 2008 which is chaired by the Minister of Women, Family and

Community Development. In March 2016 the government has

approved a new Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities (2016-2022) which is based on the general principles and obligations

stipulated in The Incheon Strategy.

11. As you all know, we have introduced community-based rehabilitation

or CBR as one of the mediums to improve the equalization of

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opportunities and social inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. As of

today, there are 527 CBR centres in Malaysia and CBR

programmes are carried out as on home based, centre based and

centre home based. Recently, in September 2016 the ministry with

our respective NGO partners has organised a 2nd CBR World

Congress 2016. The theme of this international congress is

“Empowering and Enabling” which centred to highlight the

importance of empowering Persons with Disabilities, family members

and communities in order to facilitate the mainstreaming of disability

across each sector and to ensure that everybody is able to access

their rights.

12. With that spirit highlighted, I am sure that if each and everyone of us

is given opportunity and support, one can excel and create wonders.

This is proven by the achievement of our Paralympian athletes

namely Ridzuan Puzi, Ziyad Zolkefli, Abdul Latif Romly and Siti Noor

Radiah Ismail during the Paralympic Games Rio 2016. They have

proven that their disability is no barrier for them to achieve success

with the right opportunity and supports.

13. All these are evidences that the government is fully committed to the

well-being and welfare of its disabled citizens and will continue to give

the necessary support on ensuring a meaningful and beneficial

service, not only for the disabled but for the community, as a whole.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

14. I am sure you would agree with me that our primary concern is to

focus on enhancing inclusiveness and equitable opportunities for all

Persons with Disabilities. Achieving that goal requires a concerted

effort and unwavering commitment from every segment of society,

encompassing among others the government sector, academia,

NGOs and members of the community.

15. We must always bear in mind that future challenges that will confront

nations will only get increasingly difficult and complex as time goes

by. Therefore, we need to design and develop programmes as well

as mechanisms not only to equip the Person with Disabilities on the

possible complexities of tomorrow but to make possible an inclusive

world. To quote Helen Keller “The welfare of each is bound up in the welfare of all”.

16. On that note it is with great pleasure that I now officiate the

International Day for Person with Disabilities with the theme

"Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want: Access for Person with

Disabilities in Education, Employment and All Rights.".

17. Wabillahitaufik Walhidayah Wasallam Mualaikum W.B.T. Thank you.