KUALA LUMPUR – Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, the Queen of Malaysia, hosted a special diplomatic event on Tuesday. She accompanied Singapore First Lady Jane Ittogi Shanmugaratnam on an official visit to the Bangi Autism Service Centre.
This high-profile visit took place during the official state visit of Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to Malaysia. To welcome the First Lady, Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim also joined the welcoming party at the facility.
During the tour, the VIP delegation walked through the main areas of the building. They spent time checking the daily living skills rooms, the therapy rooms, and the gym. In these spaces, they watched how the staff teaches life skills to people with autism.
Meanwhile, some important statistics came to light during the event. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri stated that Malaysia had 93,199 registered individuals with autism as of June. Furthermore, she expects this number to grow because public awareness and medical screenings are improving across the nation.
In conclusion, the visit helped strengthen the close relationship between Malaysia and Singapore. It also gave both nations a great chance to share best practices for community welfare.
