Who is responsible for Malaysia’s early intervention system for children with disabilities?

EVERY year, when it’s almost time to announce the national budget, the public conversation about children with disabilities surfaces. There is usually a request for more services and resources, especially for children with autism.

But we fail to ask some key questions. We fail to move the conversation beyond “we need more autism centres/ therapy therapeutic hours” towards the much bigger question of “what kind of early childhood system in Malaysia should we be building” since the existing system is so fragmented.