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25 Oct 2016

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The practice of keeping these severely disabled inmates in pens began in 2009 and according to the home, the Welfare Department is aware of the practice.

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Dignity must be accorded to all

Comment

By Dr Amar Singh HSS

The recent report of children caged in a residential home for children with disabilities in Batu Gajah has prompted the National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC) to revise and reissue these guidelines first written and circulated in 2002 by Network (a sister organisation of the NECIC). By right the Welfare Department is responsible to supervise such homes and prevent such an atrocity from occurring.

The NECIC is a registered coalition of parents, therapists and professionals from a large variety of NGOs and aims to promote early childhood intervention and services for children with disabilities. The NECIC is concerned that many residential homes for children with disabilities are poorly managed, have potentially serious hazards and are not conducive for the development and well-being of these children. According to Article 23:1 of the Convention on the Rights of the child, ‘a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance, and facilitate the child’s active participation in the community’.
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Dignity must be given to very person, disabled or able.

Dr Amar-Singh HSS is the President of National Early Childhood Intervention Council.

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FMT News ‏@fmtoday 9h9 hours ago

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PETALING JAYA: Tabung Kanak-Kanak Antarabangsa Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (Unicef) Malaysia menggesa pihak berkuasa supaya menyiasat dakwaan kanak-kanak cacat dikurung sebuah rumah kebajikan di Batu Gajah, Perak.

Dalam satu kenyataan malam tadi, Unicef berkata semua dakwaan penderaan kanak-kanak perlu diambil serius dan perlu disiasat dengan teliti.

Agensi Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) itu berkata pihaknya “sangat bimbang” selepas media menonjolkan layanan yang diterima kanak-kanak cacat Rumah Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Batu Gajah.

“Semua kanak-kanak berhak dilayan secara bermaruah dan terhormat, serta diberi perlindungan dan penjagaan yang mereka berhak terima.

“Kami menyeru pihak berkuasa dan agensi perlindungan supaya menyiasat isu ini dengan segera,” kata Unicef Malaysia.

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NEWS OF WORLD ‏@DrAmirulAmin 15h15 hours ago

Lack of funds forces home to lock inmates in pens: Rumah Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Batu Gajah says inmates .

PETALING JAYA: A charity home is forced to keep some severely mentally disabled inmates in pens at night as they lack funds to build rooms for all the inmates.

Rumah Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Batu Gajah chairman Sivalingam Ramasamy said that come bedtime, the severely disabled inmates would usually “attack” the others by biting and poking them in the eyes while they were sleeping.

“We had to separate these children to keep the others safe and since our funding is so small, our only resort was to put them in those pens,” he said.

Ten of these inmates are being kept in the pens at night.

The charity home houses some 47 disabled inmates between the ages of 15 and 60, while only six full-time workers along with some partially disabled volunteers are there to monitor them.

Sivalingam said due to the lack of funds, they could only afford to pay the workers a small allowance which was not sufficient to keep them.

“There aren’t enough workers to monitor all the inmates and even some of the workers we do have won’t stay for long.”

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EmKay ‏@mohdkhatim 14h14 hours ago

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