KUCHING: Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, whose ministerial role was expanded following the recent state Cabinet reshuffle, is trying to better integrate social welfare services among the private sector, non-government bodies and public agencies.

One of her first tasks, said the Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister yesterday, was to create a better mechanism to receive and distribute donations from private companies.

Official unveiling: Fatimah (left) unveiling Sarawak Chinese Physicians’ Association new logo, prior to the start of a free health screening by the association that took place at Batu Kawa, close to Kuching, yesterday. Also seen here is association president James Ho (right).

Money and services from the private sector’s various corporate social responsibility programmes would be channelled among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) registered with the ministry under a rakan kongsi (sharing friends) list.

“We want to bring everyone together. We need to work together,” Fatimah said in her opening speech at a free health screening by the Sarawak Chinese Physicians Association in Batu Kawa, close to here, yesterday.

Fatimah, who began her speech by introducing key members of participating bodies, said her ministry’s aim was to be a one-stop centre in terms of helping coordinate events, and also to ensure that programmes organised were one-stop centres in nature too.

“When the physicians association first talked to me about today’s event, I told them that we’ll add value together by inviting as many relevant government agencies as possible. We also quickly invited a NGO to select needy participants to take part,” Fatimah said, referring to the Society for Kuching Urban Poor (SKUP).

SKUP – which runs a daily mobile soup kitchen distributing free meals at six locations in the state capital — bused in 300 poor people for the health screening.

Transport was arranged by the ministry with buses supplied by Universiti Teknologi Mara.

At the screening, blood pressure checks, chiropractic massage and free supplementary herbs and medicine were provided.

The state agencies that took part included the councils and Education Department.

Fatimah said the presence of the agencies was to address four core issues facing the hardcore poor, of whom there were about 2,000 in Kuching.

“Housing is always the main concern, followed by education and health. Family planning is another area we’ll try to better integrate into welfare events,” the minister said.

On a related matter, Fatimah said that welfare aid was not lifelong.

“We want to practise productive welfare, meaning to say, whatever help is only temporary. Whatever aid that people receive is to enable them to learn a skill to eventually become independent.”

The Welfare, Women and Family Development Ministry is the first such ministry set up by the Sarawak government.

Its role and functions act as a state-level counterpart to the similarly-named federal ministry.

Prior to the state Cabinet reshuffle in late September, Fatimah was a minister in the Chief Minister’s Department who held a watching brief over several matters, including human resource development and education in general.

(Source: The Star Online, 17/10/11)