The importance of waqf based Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in nurturing autism well-being during Covid-19 pandemic / Syahrina Hayati Md Jan and Nurjannah Salleh

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the performance o f many public and private sectors in Malaysia, including private child development centres that offer services such as diagnosis, therapy, treatment and counselling services for children with autism. Therefore, this study focuses on implementing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to enable the sectors involved to effectively undergo the rehabilitation process while allowing these sectors to continue providing continuous services to children with autism in need. In order to face the escalating financial crisis, Waqf is one of the best alternatives to support the recovery of affected sectors and community development. In relation to this study, the researcher recommends a one-stop multifunction centre through Waqf funding that offers various services to all children with autism. The theory of organizational readiness for change has been proposed to identify the readiness for change (RFC) among staff at public and private sectors in adopting the PPP to help the parents of children with autism increase their wellbeing. Other than that, this study will identify the cooperation between public and private sectors to ensure the successful adoption of PPP in Malaysia.