Foundation

DAWN Established

Pertubuhan Advokasi dan Kesejahteraan Pekak Malaysia (DAWN) (Deaf Advocacy and Well-being National Organisation, Malaysia) is registered with the Registrar of Societies. DAWN was founded on 14 May 2022 as a human-right national organisation that provides advocacy education and support to all Deaf and hard of hearing people who are communicating in Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) on a daily basis.

We collaborate with key stakeholders to make sure Malaysia complies with United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We not only aspire to achieve equity for Deaf people as part of cultural and linguistic minority across all areas of life, but also as part of Persons with Disabilities.

Founders

The establishment of DAWN resulted from a group of dedicated Deaf individuals across Malaysia who have years of experience in Deaf leadership and advocacy for the benefit of the Deaf community. They also intend to uphold the basic rights of Deaf people as linguistically Deaf and disabled people in Malaysia, which must be recognized by the general public and the government.

The establishment was led by Ms. Sariah Ibrahim, the founding chairman along with the seven founding members of the Klang Valley namely Dr. Anthony Chong, Mr. Marzuki Ong bin Hj Maliki Ong, Mr. Farhan bin Kamarzaman, Ms. Ong Hwei Ling, Mr. Mutharasapan a/l Lakshmanan, Mr. Haymasuthan a/l Periasamy, Mrs. Haslita Hashim and Mr. Zainudin Ibrahim.

The six other founding members from outside the Klang Valley are Mr Albert Wong Toung Chui (Sarawak), Mr Sunny N Sabornido (Labuan), Ms Florida Sakmad (Sabah), Mr Amin Zuhaili Mansor (Negeri Sembilan), Mr Albert Lim Heng Tuck (Kedah). and En Tengku Arman (Terengganu).

As inspired by the OKU Rights Matter Project, we focus on five key (K) priorities:

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Executing the legal recognition and promotion of BIM

Empowering and inspiring the Deaf community to be self-advocates.

Strengthening the voice of the Malaysian Deaf community.

Supporting and collaborating with other Persons with Disabilities.

Increasing the capacity of the DAWN network to achieve these priorities.

The aims of the advocacy work are to:

Ensure Deaf people have equitable access to culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare, well-being and information through BIM interpreting services.
Ensure every Deaf individual has the privilege to fulfill their rights as Malaysian citizens without prejudice, discrimination or restriction.

Therefore, our mission is to advocate towards the realization of Deaf person’s linguistic status, disability rights and human rights in networking and partnership with Deaf organisations, Persons with Disabilities civil society organisations, allies and relevant stakeholders.

We establish our value so that Deaf people are able to fully participate in Malaysia’s mainstream society.