KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19: A total of 200 volunteer students, with the help of the Batu Caves temple management, will be helping out with logistics services during the upcoming Thaipusam celebration on Thursday, January 25.
Announcing this at a press conference in Batu Caves here today, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said the voluntary services and several other services from agencies under the Human Resources Ministry will be provided under the Kesuma Madani Programme to be held for the first time this Thaipusam.
While the agencies will set up booths to help provide information to workers and Indian youths or help them access programmes or services offered by the government, the volunteers will help in the provision of logistics services, especially to senior citizens, children and OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya or persons with disabilities).
The 200 volunteers or Wira Kesuma will comprise students pursuing Industrial Training Programme and technical courses with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the ministry.
Sim said voluntarism will bring value addition to the trainee students, and help in the area of self development as they focus on skills outside the formal training, such as communications, problems resolving while building on raising communal spirit.
Such activities will also ensure that the students are trained holistically, he said.
He said a camp to serve as a free rest area to accommodate 500 people will be also set up at the main camp of Kesuma Madani at the Batu Caves ground site following the ministry’s collaboration with the temple management.
This will serve as a point of rest for the workers as well as volunteers who will be on duty during Thaipusam including police personnel, RELA members and workers from Alam FLora and TNB.
Tired devotees, children, senior citizens and women would be able to use the services in the camp.
At the main camp of Kesuma Madani, visitors will be able to check out the information and registration for NIOSH courses services offered by the ministry’s agencies for Indian youths. This will be a collaborative effort brought by NIOSH and MITRA.
Other offerings will also include free health screenings, registration for the social security scheme offered to housewives This will be part of social security organisation PERKESO’s efforts to raise the number of insured housewives to 500,000 from 200,000.
Also present at the event were Chairman of the Sri Subramaniar Swami Temple, Tan Sri Datuk Nadarajah as well as the temple board members.
–WE