Skills for the differently abled person in Malaysia

A person who is differently abled may have bodily or mental functions that are partially impaired, but may have talents, skills and strengths that can be utilized in the workforce.

Initially, parents were not too keen to have children classified as special needs, but these attitudes are now changing, resulting in far more children with special needs getting an education, often even a tertiary one.

The recent implementation of the Education Ministry’s “zero reject” policy is an important step in ensuring that children with special needs grow up with the same opportunities as other children. The aim is to also prevent school dropouts among this group.

Since the schools now have to accept these students and prepare an individual education plan for each child with a special need, far more teachers need to be trained in order to be able to identify problems and to teach each child according to the particular problem.

The differently abled in Malaysia still face many challenges between primary school and finding a job. These include early detection of the disability, timely intervention, lack of infrastructure and accessibility, financial constraints and lack of qualified educators.

Public sector is pushing this mission by employing more disabled people. Many companies in Private Sector have decided that this group within the population deserves to have the same opportunities as the rest and are offering jobs and the relevant training. 

There are also many people with disabilities who have, despite the challenges, managed to complete their higher tertiary education and to hold jobs in legal, tech and economic activities.

The differently abled persons  can and will play an important role in the economy of Malaysia.