KUCHING: More parents of children with special needs in the state are now accepting their children’s conditions, said Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
“Last time, it was hard for children with special needs to be registered with my ministry or even to go to school,” she added during the final round of the Special Olympics Got Talent Sarawak Kuching Chapter at Boulevard Shopping Mall yesterday.
Fatimah said there must be more awareness programmes so that parents would understand the importance of early diagnosis, intervention, treatment and necessary therapy and rehabilitation are very important.
“That is a why a One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (OSEIC) will be set up here to help children with special needs,” she pointed out.
On the Special Olympics programme, she said it actually emphasised sports for special children. But this year, special children had the chance to showcase their talents in singing and dancing in the Special Olympic Got Talent as well.
Fatimah said various sport activities were included in the Special Olympics.
She revealed that two teams from Special Olympics Sarawak would be participating in the Special Olympics Asia Pacific (Specific) Games 2019.
A futsal team from Special Olympics Kuching consisting of four officials and eight players will represent Special Olympics Sarawak at the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Borneo Cup in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, Indonesia from Oct 18 to 21 this year.
Meanwhile, a badminton team consisting of an official and four players from Special Olympics Sibu will represent Special Olympics Sarawak at the Asia Pacific Unified Championship that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from Nov 12 to 16 this year.
Fatimah added about 700 athletes and officials would be participating in various sports and activities during the ‘Karnival Orang Kurang Upaya Sarawak’ (KOKUS) held for the first time in the Unimas Campus, Kota Samarahan in Nov this year.
Special Olympics Sarawak Kuching Chapter president Datin Dayang Mariani Abang Zain explained that the mission of Special Olympics was to provide year-round sports training and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
She said the Special Olympics mission remained as relevant today as it did when the movement was founded in 1968.
“Special Olympics strives to create a better world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people. Through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success.
“Our athletes find joy, confidence and fulfilment on the playing field and in life. They also inspire people in their communities and elsewhere to open their hearts to a wider world of human talents and potential,” said Mariani, adding that there were as many as 200 million people with intellectual disabilities around the world.
For the Special Olympics Got Talent Sarawak Kuching Chapter, the first prize winner in the singing category was Mohd Faiz Suhaili. Vincent Tan and Hasnieda Zamri won the second and third places respectively.
For the dancing category, SMK Batu Kawa won the first place. PDK Petra Jaya and PDK Kem Penrissen came second and third respectively.
For the instrumental performance category, the first place winner was Rock Indon Joneng. Muhd Iskandar Zulkarnian and Christopher William Baba came second and third respectively.
