Our President

AN INVITATION TO REALIZE THE DREAM
- CONTINUED SURVIVAL OF SCAS & FT

Dato’ (Dr) Lam Peng Chong has been closely associated with the Spastic Children’s Association of Selangor & Federal Territory (SCAS & FT) for more than 40 years. he is instrumental in bringing SCAS & FT to the scale of being the largest spastic centre in the country, offering free services including free transport for the spastic (cerebral palsied) children to and from their homes. Those who come by their own transport because they cannot get into our buses are given RM40.00-Rm120.00 subsidy provided they come not less than six times in a month - thanks to the kind supporters of our ongoing “Donation of RM 100,000 per ambulance / bus programme”.

Before Dato’ Lam was elected President, he was instrumental in introducing YB Dato’ Ghani Gelong, the then Minister of Transport and later YB Tun Gafar Baba, the then Minister of Land and Rural development to be our Presidents for several years. This brought in various benefits to the Spastic centre, including getting the late Mr. Lim Chooi Seng to sponsor the hydrotherapy pool and also make available 10,000 Magnum shares when the company was publicly floated. Our benefits from these shares after 30 years came to about RM 3 million. Sales of half of these enabled us to build the Workshop Extension, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.

SCAS & FT is a day rehabilitation centre. Cerebral palsied (CP) children are encouraged to be admitted at an early age. The earlier they are given treatment the better their beneficial result. So far there is  no exit age – we have CP adults as senior as 46 years old. Visitors and supporters feel gratified and heartwarming to see children learning how to walk and walk with dignity for the first time as late as after 20 years of age! It has indeed given HOPE for children born with CP.

GOD has really blessed Dato’ Lam with success in carrying out his difficult, rocky and bouldery tin and gold mining ventures, a venture where several miners had failed, namely at the areas now occupied by the Ulu Semenyih dam where we draw our drinking water and th Sg Tua/ Sg Batu dam (at the start of the interesting shortcut through Gunung Ulu Kali to Ulu Yam Bahru). To his friend now, Dato’ is know to have two burning passions – his hobby durian (now going to be mangosteen majority) orchard and the spastic children.

Dato’ Lam will be 78 years old on 7.8.2009. He wishes to invite all his close and dear friends to celebrate his long life with a GOOD CAUSE – to participate in spearheading the programme for the redevelopment of the present more than 40 years old Spastic Centre building. All donations will be duly acknowledged with tax exempt receipts.

In order to stimulate participation, Dato’ Lam is arranging a team of MATCHING DONORS who will match donation from well-wishers on a Ringgit-for-Ringgit basis. We the undersigned wish to invite you to be a member of this Matching Team.

More than 10 years ago, Dato’ lam as the president and fund-raising chairman with the support of Tan Sri Saleha Mohd Ali and his organizing committee, succeeded in raising RM 6 million to finance the construction of the six-storey Workshop Extension Building named after our Royal Patron DYMM Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, our late Sultan of Selangor. The additional workshop space has been beneficial to our children enabling them “to be trained and employed”, thus qualifying them to earn a government subsidy which is currently RM 300.00 per month.

His aspiration now is to redevelop the old centre in to a twin six-storey building, including two dormitories for respite care (one for boys and the other for girls), and additional car parking bays – a Rm 12-million project. We have saved up more thatn RM4 million in liquid assets, thus giving us encouragement to proceed with this RM12-million redevelopment project, and to make it a reality – hopefully in the not too distant future. When this new building is completed, not only will be the Spastic Centre be able to increase its enrollment but it will be able to generate sufficient revenue to ensure its continued survival, so to say. “My life work for the Spastic Children will then be more complete” states Dato’ Lam.