Cross-country: Disabled get jobs with club's help

Chan Sin Wei has Tourette’s Syndrome

KUALA LUMPUR: With his involuntary spasms and occasional shrieks, it is not easy for 25-year-old Chan Sin Wei to land a job.

But thanks to the Pudu Rotary Club, Chan, who has Tourette’s Syndrome, can now look forward to a six-month vocational stint with Armour Security Monitoring Sdn Bhd.

Chan and six other physically disabled individuals were matched to the company by the Pudu Rotary Club after they were referred by homes like the Beautiful Gate Foundation For the Disabled, United Voice, Malaysian Association of the Blind and Kiwanis Job and Training Centre and Kiwanis Job and Training Centre Slow Learner.

Since receiving his diploma in marketing five years ago, Chan had held many jobs but his contracts were not renewed due to his condition.

The longest he spent on a job was nine months and he has been unemployed for the past four months.

“It has always been hard for people to accept my condition. Kids were mean to me at school and teachers made me sit on my own because they thought I was distracting the class,” he said at the launch of the Pudu Rotary Club’s Vocational Job Training and Placement for Physically Challenged Youth.

Kelana Jaya state assemblyman Datuk Dr Wong Sai Hou officiated at the launch at the Shangri-La Hotel here yesterday.

The RM600 allowance Chan would be getting during his training stint would come in handy as currently he volunteers at the Beautiful Gate recycling centre in Petaling Jaya. The foundation provides him with meals but he has to rely on his savings for other things.

Under the training programme, Chan and the others would monitor the closed-circuit security cameras and perform clerical duties. The company will consider hiring them after the six-month period, based on their performance.

Beautiful Gate’s job placement officer Ivy Pua said despite the tax incentives given to companies that hired disabled workers, many disabled people remained unemployed.

“There are many reasons for this, including inaccessibility to public transport, insufficient disabled-friendly facilities and equipment, and the disabled person’s inability to handle the job,” Pua said.

She said the lack of qualifications and a poor command of the English language also contributed to their low rate of employment.

Beautiful Gate Foundation For the Disabled job placement officer Ivy Pua says many disabled remain unemployed.

Source : http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20071009074225/Article