Newly elected Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Giam took to his Facebook on Monday (17 Aug) saying that his team will continue to listen to members of the persons with disabilities (PWD) community to understand their challenges better so as to propose solutions to make Singapore a more inclusive society.
Mr Giam, who is also the treasurer for the Workers’ Party (WP), revealed that he and his party mate, Jamus Lim, had a “very eye-opening Zoom dialogue” with several members of the PWD community on Sunday (16 Aug).
The dialogue included Singaporeans who are blind or have severe physical disabilities caused by muscular dystrophy and injuries, as well as a former executive director of a disability NGO.
“I was inspired by their sheer resilience in overcoming life’s hurdles!” he expressed his thought in the post.
Based on their testimonies, Mr Giam noted that Singapore still has much to do in giving PWDs equal opportunities to succeed in life, though he acknowledged that the country has made progress over the years in providing resources for the PWD community.
He went on to say that “a whole nation effort” is what it takes to achieve this goal – involving the Government, employers, schools, and citizens.
“We promised our participants that we will continue to listen to feedback from them and the wider PWD community. We want to understand your challenges better and propose solutions to make Singapore a more inclusive society,” Mr Giam remarked.
Hence, he encouraged the PWD community to pen their experiences in the comment section of his post or personally reach out to him via WhatsApp at 89250747.
“If you are a PWD with experiences to share, do write them in the comments below or reach out to me via WhatsApp at 89250747.”
