A study of UiTM Sabah students attitudes toward disabled people / Aizatul Najibah Salehuddin and Norashikin Adin

In Malaysia, the Social Welfare Department reported the number of registered disabled people has increased over the last five years. It is recorded that in the middle of 2009, there were 258 918 disable people registered in Malaysia compare to 69 758 disable people in the year of 1997 recorded by the Social Welfare Department in 1997 and this source retrieved according to Salleh, Abdullah and Buang (2001). Thus, the importance to register the disabled people could result in them to enable in accessing the special education, facilities, employment and other services. Besides, the Social Welfare Department also showed that that from the year of 2004 and 2009, the total number of registrations recorded in 2009, there were 23,738 (9.20%) are blind/visually impaired, 35,368 (13.65%) are deaf/hearing impaired, 86,485 (33.39%) are physically disabled, 100,180 (38.69%) have learning disabilities, 3250 (1.25%) have cerebral palsy, and the remaining 9,897 (3.82%) have other disabilities. Thus, in the year of 2008, Malaysia has passed the Persons with Disabilities Act as the part of obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention). This Act mentioned that those people with disabilities shall have equal access in terms of public facilities,