MySTEP: 0.4 pct PwD special quota filled as of February - Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) – About 0.4 per cent of the total special quota allocated for persons with disabilities (PwDs) in the Malaysia Short-Term Employment Programme (MySTEP) has been filled as of the end of February this year.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the government had announced a special quota of at least one per cent job opportunities for the PwDs through the MySTEP 2022 programme out of a total target of 600,000 job opportunities this year.

“More than RM40 million has been allocated through various initiatives including improving infrastructure and upgrading government buildings to be more disabled-friendly.

“The implementation of the special quota for the PwD depends on the number of recruitments made by ministries, agencies and government-linked companies (GLCs) according to their respective recruitment procedures,” he said in a question and answer session at the Dewan Negara today.

He said this in his reply to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi regarding the disabled who have benefited through the MySTEP programme.

Tengku Zafrul said the government called on all parties to continue working together to provide suitable employment opportunities through the special MySTEP quota for the vulnerable and disabled.

“The government hopes that these groups will continue to support government initiatives by participating in MySTEP either in the public sector or GLCs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said as of March 15, this year, MySTEP as a whole, had successfully placed almost 11,000 employees in various ministries and GLCs with 90 per cent of the total being placed in the public sector.

For the Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs (PROTÉGÉ), a total of 507 participants have been successfully placed as of Feb 28 this year, he said.