Changing Perceptions, Creating Opportunities

From personal determination to national initiatives, the push for inclusive workplaces is helping persons with disabilities find meaningful employment across Malaysia.

Courage in Action for Malaysians with Disabilities

AT 25 YEARS OLD, Aimi Anis Mardhiah Mazlan (pic) carries a quiet strength that many would easily overlook.

Soft-spoken and warm, she is always ready with a gentle smile. If you passed her on the street, you might assume she is just like anyone else. But Aimi lives with mild cerebral palsy—a condition that is often invisible, yet shapes her daily life.

Long distances drain her energy, and at times her steps falter and she stumbles. Standing for too long leaves her legs trembling. Yet none of these challenges stop her from showing up every day with determination.

What weighs on her most is not her physical limitations, but people’s perceptions.

“When I was job-hunting, the hardest part was how people looked at me,” she recalls.

“They would ask, ‘Why are you registered as an OKU (person with disability)? You look healthy.’ They questioned whether I could work at all.”

The comments were painful. Aimi never sought pity—only fairness.

“I can work like anyone else; I just have limitations. That doesn’t make me incapable,” she says firmly.

Through the MyFutureJobs initiative under the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO), Aimi eventually secured a position as an administrative assistant trainee at the Ophthalmology Clinic in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

“Praise be to God, my colleagues here are supportive and very helpful,” says Aimi, who hails from Kuantan, Pahang.

When asked whether she ever felt like giving up, she admits that the fast-paced environment sometimes became overwhelming. As a MySTEP trainee in one of the busiest clinics, exhaustion was inevitable. But instead of letting it crush her spirit, Aimi turned it into motivation.

“I treated the exhaustion as a challenge—an opportunity to prove that I can work just like everyone else,” she says.

Aimi’s story is echoed by others like her, including Muhammad Ammar Yasir (pic) , a 27-year-old production operator with learning disabilities.

His condition did not stop him from thriving at Duopharma Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, where he was hired under PERKESO’s Daya Kerjaya initiative.

“I learned a lot from my colleagues here, and they are always willing to share their experience with me,” he says.

Despite his disability, he notes that he has never been treated differently.

“I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity.”

Building Inclusive Workplaces

Aimi and Muhammad Ammar represent a small portion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) who have been fortunate enough to find employers that look beyond limitations and believe in their potential. But many others are not as lucky.

According to the Social Welfare Department (JKM), more than 800,000 PWDs are registered in Malaysia—yet only about half are employed.

In an effort to break these employment barriers, UNDP Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam has partnered with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Malaysia to promote inclusive employment for PWDs.

Herlianna Naning, Head of Inclusive Growth and Prosperity at UNDP Malaysia, says that through the SDG Trust Fund, both agencies provide recommendations to the Malaysian government on inclusive employment for PWDs.

 “We give opportunities and access (to the PWDs) to skills training and meaningful employment.

 “Through this collaboration, we can also provide policy recommendations to the government to strengthen the existing labour market policy involving PWDs.”

UNDP Malaysia and ILO are not alone in this effort, as Bursa Malaysia is also stepping forward in championing inclusive employment.

Mazliana Mohamad, Director of Social Impact and Investor Empowerment at Bursa Malaysia said:

 “Through our collaboration with UNDP, we aim to encourage capital market participants to lead by example in creating accessible and equitable workplaces.

As the Chair of this year’s ASEAN Summit, Malaysia – through the Malaysia Federation of the Deaf (MFD) – is organising the ASEAN Disability Forum on 3 and 4 December in Kuala Lumpur.

The Forum, which is expected to gather over 200 participants from all over the region, aimed to highlight the latest developments and display the current Asean Enabling Masterplan to advance support for PWDs.

MFD vice-chair Mohamad Sazali Shaari said:

 “We’re also looking forward to further developing the masterplan to sustain support for the PWDs.

 “Another area of concern is to emphasise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) pertaining to empowerment of PWDs."

The forum is also held in conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, that falls on the 3 December.

Learn more about the coordinated effort between UNDP Malaysia and ILO Malaysia to ensure inclusive employment here:

https://www.undp.org/malaysia/projects/ilo-undp-persons-disabilities-pwd-apprenticeship-programme

Special thanks to PERKESO, Bursa Malaysia, the International Labour Organization Malaysia and Malaysia Federation of the Deaf (MFD) for their contributions in making this story possible.