JOHOR BARU: From January this year until the present, the Johor Labour Department assisted a total of 87 special needs individuals in securing employment.
Announcing this today, department director Zaini Yaacob said this number included 30 people with hearing impairments, who were offered jobs very recently with Flex, an electronics manufacturing multinational based in Skudai and Tanjung Pelepas port, two weeks after the company entered into an understanding with the Johor Society for the Deaf.
He added that the company’s Penang office had also employed a total of 120 people with special needs.
“The example set by Flex should be followed by other industry giants to ensure that people with special needs are not left behind in the country’s development efforts,“ Zaini said today, when launching a ‘People With Disabilities programme’ organised by Flex and also attended by its vice president (operations) P. Viswanathan.
The director said his department would continue to work with Flex and any other company in the state, towards securing employment for individuals with special needs.
Additionally, through the efforts of the department, said Zaini, a total of eight entrepreneurs with disabilities have been provided with grants under a scheme aimed at encouraging people with disabilities to engage in entrepreneurship (SBGPOKU), on the understanding that such entrepreneurs would employ other people with disabilities.
Ahmad Farid Zainal, 39, one of the 30 individuals employed by Flex, told Bernama he was grateful to have been offered a position as a production operator at Flex Skudai, having experienced rejections by other companies on account of his hearing impairment.
“I feel comfortable working at Flex because we have a buddy system which helps in terms of communication and advice about tasks,“ he said, and urged individuals with disabilities to look for employers who were open to hiring differently-abled persons, as this would make communication easier and reduce work pressure. — Bernama
