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POCAM, the Society of the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Malaysia, was formed in 1976 by the disabled themselves, and is dedicated to promoting the interests and general well-being of its members and other disabled people in Malaysia. It currently has over one thousand members across the country and beyond. The management of POCAM is under the control of elected members and they are assisted by voluntary helpers and two full-time employees. POCAM complies strictly with the requirements of the Registrar of Societies, and its accounts are audited regularly by a public accounting firm. Our current Executive Committee members, for the term 2005-07, are:
Read our Constitution, and below, a detailed Brief History. |
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A Brief History of POCAM During the seventies, though several groups of disabled such as the blind of deaf had voluntary societies working to help them, there was no such society looking after the interests of the orthopaedically disabled who are the most numerous of all. So Appu Raman, the first Principal of Pusat Pemulihan Cheras who had just retired from a senior post in the Social Welfare Department, together with Hugh Storey, another retired civil servant disabled by polio in middle life, invited a group of like-minded people to a meeting in the latter's house on the 23rd of August 1974. They formed a pro-tem committee, and made a number of basic decisions. It was agreed to form a national body at once, rather than go through intermediate stages; to be a society "of" rather than "for"; and to adopt more user-friendly policies and practices than those provided by the Social Welfare Department, who were pressed on one side by the numbers of people wishing to register, and on the other by the limited finance, manpower, and other resources which Parliament was willing to give them. Our inaugural meeting was held a year later at Pusat Sukan Kampong Pandan on the 10th of August 1975, which we take as our birth-date. We had at that time about three hundred prospective members, eighty of whom were present; and Mr. E.G. Ross, who was Director of Rehabilitation in the Department, kindly came as Guest of Honour and gave us their encouragement. However we had to wait another year until our registration was approved in September 1976, which allowed us to recruit new members and expand our activities. So in POCAM the ordinary members are disabled people, and only they can vote at general meetings; however other people are welcome as associate members, and can be elected to office or appointed to committees. The total membership is now over 1,100 ordinary and 60 associate members, living in all the States of Malaysia and even beyond. We have always found it necessary to restrict the growth of membership so that proper attention can be given to each, and in the eighties, we reached about the maximum number that could be handled with our capacity at that time. For some years, therefore, we accepted new members in small numbers only to replace losses, limited either to a particular region or to a particular group such as spinal damage paraplegics. However since 1998, we have begun to recruit on a wider basis, and our membership will rise in a steady but controlled manner. The Society's objectives may be summed up as to help its disabled members to become independent and self supporting, and to work for a better future for the orthopaedically handicapped in general. Under the first heading, it has been found that members have many problems in which they need our help, leading eventually to self-sufficiency where possible. Up to now, most of our effort has therefore been directed into individual case-work, and a summary of what has been done can be read here. Until recently opportunities for placing any but the lightly disabled in wage-earning employment have been limited, while problems arise over access to buildings and public transport, and the largest group of members is therefore the self-employed. Our current unemployment rate is only 8% even though we have taken in nearly two hundred new members just in the three years leading to 2000. In addition to dealing with members' problems ourselves, we act as a third party in the relationship between them and the Social Welfare Department and other rehabilitation agencies. We bring to the attention of these agencies cases where members are not getting some kind of help for which they can reasonably ask under present policies, and we are often able to help them in return. Under the second heading, we have brought to the attention of the government and to the notice of the public a number of matters regarding the situation of the orthopaedically handicapped. Problems common to all categories of disabled, such as employment or access, are now put forward through the Malaysian Confederation of the Disabled, which was registered in 1987 and where all the major disability groups meet to formulate common policies and statements. At this stage, the members in all States except North Kelantan, Johr Baru, and Penang Island come under the direct control of the Executive Council in Kuala Lumpur, aided by Corresponding Members in other places. Case-work is handled by three sub-committees:
and there is also a standing committee for Sports. Our Medical Adviser is Associate Professor Dr. Mohamad Abd. Razak of University Kebangsaan Malaysia, while our Legal Adviser is Mr. David Tay or Messrs. Ooi Aik Lim & Associates and our Sports Adviser is Encik Sidique Merican, a former National Director of Sport.
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