Standing 'pie' young Malaysians with autism by giving them jobs and training

"I think this is my calling and I have so much satisfaction in helping people with special needs," says Sarjit. Photos: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

April is Autism Awareness Month and StarLifestyle will be running stories on people on the spectrum throughout the month.

Sarjit Singh’s eldest son is dyslexic, and the father of four understands the challenges of raising a child with a learning disorder. Over the years, Sarjit and his wife Oretha Herrera, 47, have taken numerous courses to equip them with the necessary skills to bring up a child with special needs.

Two years ago, Sarjit received an offer he couldn’t refuse: a job managing Persatuan Stand (PS), a Kuala Lumpur-based social enterprise that provides training and employment opportunities to young adults with autism.

It didn’t take much to convince Sarjit to take up the job – he wanted to be a part of PS’ worthy cause.

“Previously, the special needs individuals at PS were involved in consignment work, such as packaging sauce for fast food companies. They were also earning some extra money selling pies to KL’s Full Gospel Assembly (FGA) parishioners.

“But PS founder/FGA’s Pastor Lee Hock Cheng wanted to take the organisation to the next level. This involved developing and training young adults with autism for jobs in the food business. Pastor Lee felt I was a good fit because I worked in the F&B industry prior to setting up my printing business,” said Sarjit, 51.

Sarjit trains his special staff based on their individual abilities.

Sarjit’s experience in raising a child with dyslexia was another reason he wanted to be part of the social enterprise.

“Although my son isn’t autistic, I am aware of the challenges involved when working with a child with learning difficulties. This includes coping with their mood swings, temper tantrums and helping them overcome other issues they may face.

“I accepted the job willingly because I want to provide young adults with autism with the opportunity to learn new skills, earn an income and move towards independence,” explained Sarjit, who now works full-time as the chairman of PS, while operating his own business on the side.

The pandemic didn’t really affect operations at PS. Rather, Sarjit successfully overhauled the enterprise’s business strategies and worked hard on promoting its brand of pies – Stand Pie Me.

And, he’s successfully hired and trained 14 adults with high functioning autism to work at PS.

At Persatuan Stand, young adults with special needs have the opportunity to learn a skill set and work alongside others like them.

Autism and employment barriers

Approximately 9,000 children in Malaysia are born with autism every year, according to the National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM). Individuals diagnosed with ASD may face challenges with communication skills and have restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviour.

Often, these individuals face many hurdles in securing jobs.

In December last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that by the end of 2022, 1% of civil service jobs would go to people with disabilities.

Currently, only four ministries have complied with the one-percent employment of Persons with Disabilities (OKU) policy in the public sector, according to a news report quoting Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff.

Feilina Feisol, a past member of the National Council for Persons of Disability of Malaysia, hopes the PM’s goal will be achieved as currently, not many companies have such a target of hiring people with disabilities, she says.

“The employment rate for the disabled in Britain is 21.7%. But the percentage of people with autism with jobs in Malaysia could be less than 0.1%,” said Feilina, who served as NASOM’s chairperson till 2020.

Naim is currently undergoing vocational training at NASOM, where he learns to bake and sew. Photo: Feilina Feisol

Feilina feels many organisations are reluctant to hire people with autism (PWA) because they do not understand their regimented routine.

“Once trained, people with autism can do a job well. But they can be quite rigid with their routines. For example, if a PWA is supposed to finish work at 6pm, he would not understand why he has to work overtime till 7pm even though he has work to get done,” said Feilina, whose son Naim Rafaie Abdul Rahim, 26, has autism.

A 2021 study “Parent’s Experience on Employment Issues Faced by Young Adult With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” in the Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences lists social stigma, discrimination and limited provision of services as some of the reasons people on the spectrum face difficulties getting employment.

Sarjit agrees, adding that many organisations aren’t well versed with the procedures on hiring people with special needs.

“Many employers have the heart to help, but they don’t know where to start.

For starters, companies should set up a unit that sees to the needs of differently-abled employees, he said.

“Staff can be trained to interact with with people with autism or other disabilities; a job coach should also be employed to tap into the talents of these special needs employees. Without proper training, it can be frustrating for people with disabilities,” he said.

Ho Lin Mur watches from afar as her staff with special needs measures the dough to make pie crust.

A well-oiled machine

The ‘Stand’ in PS is actually an acronym for “skill, talent, acceptance, needs and destiny”.

At the PS centre in OUG Parklane, KL, Sarjit together with job trainers Ho Lin Mur and Brian Kirby, and their special staff run the operations like clockwork.

Sarjit turns to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to promote their best selling items such as the chicken mushroom pie, beef goulash, cottage pie and apple crumble.

“Business is brisk. On average, we produce about 700 pies each week,” shared Sarjit, who runs the kitchen from 8am to 4pm on weekdays.

The staff members – who are between 21 and 50 years – are given different work responsibilities based on their skills.

Reuben Chan enjoys the pie-making process, especially dicing potatoes and trimming pie dough.

“To gauge their potential, we give them different tasks like cutting, weighing, mixing the dough and cooking, and then determine their strengths. We then focus on their skill set and encourage them to specialise in a particular area.

“So far, our workers have been trained for over two years and they are good at what they do.

“They take charge of 80% of the duties at PS. My ultimate aim is to enable them to earn the minimum wage of RM1,500,” shared Sarjit. In the pipeline is a plan to set up kiosks operated by PS staff.

Staff member Ng Eu Gene, 26, looks forward to going to work at PS. He is happy working with PS because he and his colleagues help each other out and work as a team.

“I am glad my working hours are short because after work, I have plenty of time to rest and play games at home. I like the working environment here because it’s cool, clean and tidy.”

But it isn’t just all work and no play at PS.

Every Thursday, Sarjit takes his staff out to a nearby park to play badminton and cycle, aimed at improving their gross motor skills. His staff are trained in life skills like using public transport, buying groceries and ordering food in a restaurant.

At Persatuan Stand, Ng has been trained to jot down the orders as well as the pantry stock intake.

“We have to make it as real as possible. We want them to gain confidence and learn survival skills. We are teaching them independence and helping them find their own path, for a time when their parents are no longer around to look after them.”

But the journey hasn’t been a bed of roses for Sarjit and his coaches. They have had to literally hold their staff’s hand every step of the way.

“Teaching them requires lots of patience and empathy. The secret? I love them like my own children. When they make mistakes, we must have the patience to teach them till they get it right,” he said.

Persatuan Stand provides training, employment and mentorship for young adults with special needs.

Sarjit wishes he could hire as many young adults with special needs at PS. However, the job requires a skill set, which isn’t suitable for those with low-functioning autism.

“We can only help those who can do the tasks,” said Sarjit.

The job is challenging but Sarjit enjoys it, even though it meant having to ease up on his own business.

“I think this is my calling and I have so much satisfaction in helping the community. I developed more empathy only after learning about my son’s learning condition. My aim is to ensure that my special staff can earn a living and gain the right footing towards independence.”