When I read in the news of the proposal to build a ‘welfare village’ in Miri, Sarawak, I was disturbed by the concept of a ‘welfare village’. I realised that as a society, Malaysia is still rather ignorant about the concept of equity and inclusion when it comes to individuals with disabilities.
The idea of a ‘welfare village’ may have been conceptualised out of good intentions but a welfare village is an obstacle to Malaysia's vision of a caring society. Instead of a caring society in which all Malaysians are included in all aspects of society, a centralised welfare village would only serve to further isolate residents of current welfare homes to the outer fringes of society.
The community where the welfare homes should be a part of is not among ‘welfare’ residents, but among the general population. Instead of just interacting with each other, residents of ‘welfare’ homes should be interacting with the rest of society.
The help and support that the residents need should be provided for within the community and by the community. The residents of ‘welfare’ homes do not need new, isolated and separated facilities. They should be sharing the necessary facilities with the general public, and not among themselves.
Rather than spending money building new facilities in a welfare village, the Sarawak state government should consider upgrading current public facilities to allow easy access to all individuals with disabilities. In addition, the staff of these facilities should be trained to provide necessary support to enable the residents of ‘welfare’ homes to fully benefit from these services.
The aged, the single mothers, the orphans, the individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities, and other ‘needy’ groups are part of what makes the Malaysian society whole.
The Malaysian government should work towards an inclusive caring society where neighbours care for each other and the weak among us are not shipped off to a distant location where they ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and most of all, out of our hearts.
