Fatimah: Ministry actively bridging social gaps through many initiatives

MIRI (Sept 4): The Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Sarawak, via the Social Development Council (MPS), is actively working to bridge social gaps via initiatives that focus on inclusivity.

According to minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah, social inclusivity is part of the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 meant for the state’s development.

“To achieve sustainable community wellbeing, my ministry is addressing 14 critical social issues through targeted programmes and projects, with MPS overlooking them.

“They are petty crimes; teenage pregnancy; drugs and substance abuse; STIs/HIV/AIDS; marriages and divorces; cybercrime; bully; domestic violence; homelessness; identification document issues; sexual crime towards women and children; mental health; poverty; and ageing,” she said this when officiating at the opening of Curtin University Malaysia’s ‘GlobeSync Community Research and Sustainability Conference’ (Globecores 2024), which took place at the university’s auditorium yesterday.

Fatimah highlighted three key issues, namely homelessness, with government-supported transit centres in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri; drug problems, tackled by the One Stop Committee (OSC); and teenage pregnancy, addressed by the One Stop Teenage Pregnancy Committee (OSCTPC) through collaborative efforts across related Sarawak government agencies.

Additionally, she commended the Globecores 2024, which resonated with the Sarawak government’s shared mission of creating a better world for all, particularly for women and children.

“The presence of over 1,000 participants from 36 countries, both physically and virtually, underscores the importance of collective action and the power of shared knowledge in addressing the world’s most pressing issues that impact climate change, global health crises and socio-economic disparities,” she said.

The two-day conference concludes today at Pullman Hotel Miri Waterfront.

Also present were Curtin Malaysia acting pro vice-chancellor and chief executive Prof Vincent Lee; Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences dean and the conference chairperson Prof Roy Rillera Marzo; and Curtin Malaysia chief operations officer Sharon Chong.