DESARU: Sand and Sandals Desaru Beach Resort & Spa has given a broadly inclusive twist to the 'Keluarga Malaysia' campaign by taking in four differently-abled workers.
General manager Lim Lily Lian said the resort was of the view that there is ability in the differently-abled that can be leveraged to the benefit of the establishment.
"Here we believe in multitasking and the management, department executives and rank and file, all act and work as one family and there is no discrimination between them," she said.
She said the resort has four differently-abled persons on its staff.
"Even the able-bodied find it tough these days to get a job. Here we look at an employee's willingness to work and be useful and disregard any disability they might have," said Lim.
She said the resort was motivated by the communitarian spirit embodied by the government's 'Keluarga Malaysia' concept.
"Not just sympathy motivates us to employ the differently-abled, we are also moved to be inclusive in our approach to giving people a chance to earn a living and be useful to themselves and society," she stressed.
The four differently-abled employees are Abd Sukur Mohd Nor,36, Muhamad Zekry Hussian, 28, Muhammad Fayyadh Adnan, 32, and Wan Sulaiman Ismail, 45.
Sukur is a steward in the kitchen and has been with the resort for seven years.
Born a deaf-mute, Sukur goes about his chores with a breeziness that belies his disability.
When engaged by the New Straits Times via writing, Sukur responded by saying he doesn't consider his disability an obstacle.
He said the resort management treats him as a valued member of the staff, having given him a pay rise even during the pandemic.
"During the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), I still worked and the management did not deduct my salary. For that I am grateful," he wrote in one of his responses.
Another staff, Zekry, lost his left leg in an accident 13 years ago while he was a student.
Zekry, who works as an accounts executive, walks with the aid of a prosthetic limb that was donated courtesy of the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) in 2009.
"With this prosthetic limb I am able to walk around and do my work like any other staff here," said Zekry who is married and has a child.
He said losing a limb had not handicapped him in rising within his department, as the resort recognizes him by giving him annual increase.
"I am thankful to NSTP for sponsoring my prosthetic leg. It gives me mobility and I can work like others," he said with a smile that reflected his satisfaction at his situation.
Another recipient of the resort's inclusiveness is intellectually challenged Fayyadh.
He has been working in the housekeeping department for two years now and though he takes time to get used to new tasks, he does his work with dispatch when he has mastered the details.
Fayyadh, from Pahang, likes working in the resort because he said his colleagues treat him well.
Another staff, Wan Sulaiman Ismail, was born a deaf-mute.
This father of three school-going children has been working in this resort for the past four years.
He raised his thumb and clenched his other fingers in a gesture that said "All's well with me" when through sign language he was asked how he felt about working at the resort.
His silent response was accompanied by a smile that lit up his face.
All four differently-abled employees of Sands and Sandals Desaru Beach Resort & SPA have been given a fresh grasp of the concept of Keluarga Malaysia.
