Chinese community leaders assoc donates RM2,000 to Sibu Autistic Association

SIBU (Jan 27): The Sibu DIvision Chinese Community Leaders Association donated RM2,000 to the Sibu Autistic Association (SAA) today.

Its president Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau handed over the cheque to SAA president David Ngu.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Lau said the contribution to SAA is part of the association’s yearly agenda to bring festive joy and also to help SAA run their activities and centre.

“We give this fund to SAA every year. However, due to limited funds, we can only give a small amount but we hope to see that through our gestures and efforts, more people are encouraged to provide such assistance to SAA.

“Even though SAA is funded by the Welfare Department, it is not sufficient, and they still rely on the support of the community,” he pointed out, adding the importance of building a caring society which cares for the needy.

Meanwhile, Ngu said it costs almost RM500,000 each year to run the SAA centre.

“That is why apart from government funding, we still need the support of the community in running the centre.

“Currently, we have about 40 children and we still have a very long waiting list because we do not have enough manpower and limited space. To help these children, we need very specially trained teachers and we always ensure we adhere strictly to the rules and regulations set by the Welfare Department to ensure the total safety of the children,” he said.

SAA currently only has 10 full-time teachers to help the autistic children.

Ngu added the association is in the midst of constructing a new block to accommodate more children and they are waiting on the final approval stage.

“Once this building becomes a reality, it can accommodate another 200 children. Again, it is about the funding. To have this building, we need at least RM3 million and currently, we only have RM300,000 so this is quite a big challenge.

“Autism cases in Sibu are increasing every year and on average, we have at least 100 new cases each year. Last year, we reached almost 140 cases so that is a huge number,” he said.

Ngu said a large community of support is needed and helping these children is important to ensure they are included in the community.

“Early detection and early intervention are important — for example, my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and at three years old, he received his early intervention programme. Today, he is nine years old and goes to one of the best classes at SK Perbandaran No 2,” he said.