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 Mr. Appu Raman, the first Principal of Pusat Pemulihan Cheras who had just retired from a senior post in the Social Welfare Department, together with Mr. 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.