KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 – In what he maintained is the biggest ever allocation for the disabled, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in his Budget 2025 speech that the government will build 11 new PERMATA Centres for autistic children, so that every state, including Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah, dan Sarawak, will have one.
RM300 million will also be allocated to construct two new schools for students with special needs in Tuaran, Sabah and Johor Bahru.
“The school in Johor Bahru will be the first dedicated school to focus on autistic education,” said Anwar.
The prime minister also announced an allocation of RM200 million to provide special needs students with an allowance of RM150 per month for 110 disabled students, including those with autism.
Under the budget, RM15 million has also been earmarked to provide a learning allowance for autistic children to help ease the burden of eligible parents and will benefit 30,000 autistic children.
The prime minister further announced an allocation of RM10 million for private autistic schools registered with the Ministry of Education to upgrade their learning facilities, and RM15 million for autism service centres that will benefit the autism community.
Additionally, the tax relief limit for treatment and rehabilitation expenses for autistic children will be increased from RM4,000 to RM6,000.
