SHAH ALAM: Parents of special children in Selangor can apply for financial assistance from a fund set up by the state government beginning this year.
Dubbed Bantuan Khas Anak Istemewa Selangor (AnIS), an amount of RM500,000 has been allocated for 2019.
When announcing this, Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari said each family can draw a maximum amount of RM5,000 to be used for various needs.
The funds can also be used to buy equipment needed for rehabilitation of special children, said Amirudin at a press conference after chairing the weekly Economic Action Council (MTES) meeting yesterday.
Applicants must be parents or guardians of special children who are registered with the Welfare Department and holders of its disabled person’s card (OKU card).
Application forms can be obtained from any of the state’s 56 constituencies’ service centres or from the website of the state government.
Besides helping the special children, the programme also trains kindergarten and childcare centre teachers on how to manage the various types of disabilities.
“We also want to create access to the many facilities for special children and their carers under this initiative,” he said.
Amirudin said the state initially had the early intervention scheme to help special children which has now been repackaged as AnIS.
On another matter, Amirudin said low income families under the B40 category will receive a RM40 rebate on their monthly electricity bill soon.
He said the move is a federal government initiative spearheaded by the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry.
Amirudin said those who qualify for the rebate are hardcore poor and poor families registered under the federal government’s eKasih data system.
He said 8,836 heads of B40 families qualify for the rebate in Selangor but 6,416 out of them do not have a Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) account under their names.
“Those who do not have TNB accounts under their name must either be renting or living with others, and we will help them get the RM40 rebate,” said Amirudin.