Funding from federal and state govts sought for PDK’s smooth running

THE Tun Aminah Community Development Rehabilitation Centre (PDK) is looking for federal and state governments’ support to ensure handicapped children have continuity in the learning process.

Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim said the PDK reopened recently after it was closed in February because its previous committee had failed to apply for a government grant to run the centre.

However, the building is unsuitable for special needs children due to limited space.

Mohamad Shahfit hopes for rental waiver as the new PDK Tun Aminah committee has no money to fund its operations.“These children need space to freely move, which the current PDK does not have.

“We cannot move elsewhere as it will incur huge expenses to the committee, so I hope the Federal Government and Johor government step in to help these children,” she said when met after attending the induction ceremony for PDK Tun Aminah’s new committee members at Dewan Masjid Raudhatul Jaumah, Taman Damai Jaya, Skudai.

Marina said PDKs were important as they provided a learning centre for the disabled to learn to fend for themselves in future.

“All they have now is their parents to care for them. What happens when their parents are no longer around?

“They need skills and knowledge to continue living on their own, which is where the PDK’s role is crucial,” she said, adding that parents of special needs children should not be ashamed to send their offspring to such schools.

Marina: PDKs are important because they provide the disabled with skills to fend for themselves in future.There is a lot of demand for PDKs in Skudai due to its high population, said Marina.

“The number of registered voters alone is more than 120,000, so there is a need to introduce a larger PDK to cater for local demand,” she said.

PDK Tun Aminah’s newly elected chairman Mohamad Shahfit A. Wahab said the current building belonged to the district land office and the committee was hoping for a waiver in monthly rental.

“The present committee is still new. We do not even have our bank account yet, so we are hoping the state government allows us to use this building without any charge, to conduct lessons for the children.

“After the closure in February, we forked out our own money to rent a shoplot but it is too expensive to manage on our own.

“So after meeting with the land office and Welfare Department (JKM), we managed to reopen the centre and we hope for government support,” he said.

Johor women, family, and community development committee chairman Khairin Nisa Ismail said the state government, through JKM, would help provide for the PDK’s needs whenever possible.

“Each PDK is registered as a non-governmental organisation under the Registrar of Societies, and has to apply for a grant from JKM to run the centre.

“But at the same time, we need to identify a PDK’s needs first because it is considered a private entity, so we cannot simply provide government funding to aid the centre,” she said.