Persatuan Pekerja Sosial Malaysia · 2018-07-01 · Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) in July & November...

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Bilik 3, Tingkat 2, Bangunan SSAAS, No. 16, Jalan Utara, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor * Tel: +603-7954-9379 * Fax: +603-7958-4981 * Website: www.masw.org.my *

Persatuan Pekerja Sosial Malaysia

Malaysian Association of Social Workers (ROS: 1387 Sel)(

For Circulation to Members Only

NEWSLETTER 1/2012

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2011-2013

PRESIDENT: TEOH AI HUA VICE-PRESIDENT: ELSIE LEE HON. SECRETARY: DATIN RODHIAH BT ZAKARIA ASST. SECRETARY: LAI POH GUAT HON. TREASURER: AMY BALA COMMITTEE MEMBERS: DATO’ SHAMSIAH BT ABDUL RAHMAN DR. AZLINDA BT AZMAN DATO’ MEME BT ZAINAL RASHID DR MOHD SUHAIMI BIN MOHAMAD INTERNAL AUDITORS: 1. PETER RAVINDRAN DANIEL 2. K.N. SINGHAM EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: TEOH AI HUA ELSIE LEE

GREETINGS FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE! What a hectic year it has been since the AGM of 2011, and it looks like the year ahead after the 2012 AGM is going to be even more of a head spinner! It has been inspiring, challenging, exciting and daunting too, at times! MASW is however committed to playing a very significant role in the professionalisation of formal social welfare services through the implementation of competency standards for social work practice and the enactment of the Social Workers Bill in the near future. The Bill has a two-pronged objective: the protection of service users as well as the protection of professional practice. MASW would like to congratulate Cik Norani binti Haji Mohd Hashim upon her appointment as the Director-General of the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia. A social work graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Cik Norani has been our member since 1983. Under her leadership, we look forward to working closely with the Department to strengthen the quality and competency of social workers in the country. We also congratulate Professor Dr Ismail Baba on his appointment as Professor at Universiti Utara Malaysia. He is the first Professor of social work in the country. MASW wishes him well and hopes that his work will continue to enhance the quality and status of our profession. Congratulations also to Sister Helena Vytialingam of Rose Virginie Good Shepherd Welfare Centre on being conferred the Woman of Inspiration Award (Community Renewal Sector) by the Perak State Government. This is a well-deserved recognition of Sister Helena’s work and her commitment towards making a difference in the lives of those she touched. MASW applauds you! Last but not least, we are pleased to inform that Teoh Ai Hua has been elected one of two Vice-Presidents of the Executive Committee of the Malaysian Professional Centre, and we welcome Mrs Shanti Samy who joined us in May 2012 as a part-time volunteer to help with the general administration of our MASW. office,

Perhaps the biggest

social service anyone

can do is to bring up a

family

- George Bernard Shaw

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UPDATE ON THE SOCIAL WORKERS BILL Several consultations with stake-holders have been held and are still going on. In fact, sessions were held with ministerial stake-holders even while the framework of the Bill was being crafted by an independent social work consultant, Dr Pauline Meemeduma in early 2010. She then worked with a local legal consultant, Dr Farah Nini binti Dusuki from the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya, on the first draft which was again discussed with ministerial stake-holders then taken on a road show to brief social welfare officers and NGOs in 13 states before submission to the Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) in December 2010. Since then, the Bill has been re-drafted and discussed with the Ministry’s Steering Committee, and two workshops held with the Technical Committee to incorporate feedback received. MASW is represented on this Committee. In early 2012, the Committee conducted another road show by zones to brief both government and non-government stakeholders. The Minister then, YB Dato’ Sri Shahrizat binti Abdul Jalil also called for a workshop at the Ministry, to brief NGOs from all over the country to ensure they understood the need for the Bill. MASW members also responded to requests by individual NGO groups to provide briefings for their staff and volunteers. Currently, the Department of Social Welfare is carrying out consultations with state governments individually, which is expected to be completed by this September. Generally the feedback has been supportive of the Bill but, understandably, there has been some voices of concern too especially about its impact on those who are doing

social work kinds of job but do not have the professional qualifications, from both GOs and NGOs. Other queries are about having all infrastructures in place before the Bill is enforced, providing educational and training pathways to acquire a social work diploma/degree, government support for study loans/scholarships and for NGOs to employ professionally trained social workers. A few would rather not have the title of ‘Worker’ which when translated to Malay means ‘Pekerja’. This is seen as not affirming social workers as professionals. The Committee is studying all these issues but it would not be MASW’s recommendation to change the title as it is internationally recognised in more than 90 countries, and we should wear that title with pride and humility! The Draft Bill will be further reviewed before it is submitted to the Cabinet, then to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for further scrutiny before it is tabled in Parliament. The timeline was supposed to be October 2012, but that does not appear feasible until all the state governments have been briefed, and other events may push the Draft Bill over to 2013 before it gets to Parliament. In the meantime the Technical Committee is continuing to sort out necessary issues to prepare for the Bill.

After the press conference at the MWFCD’s Workshop for NGOs on the Draft Bill

28 March 2012

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TRAINING ACTIVITIES

Training Attended MASW members have been participating in a number of Training of Trainers (TOT) programmes organised jointly by JKM and UNICEF, or by UNICEF on its own, even helping to facilitate some of these training with Dr Pauline Meemeduma. These TOT workshops are part of the strategic plan to build a pool of trainers/supervisors, especially in child protection work, who will contribute towards the rolling out of similar training for child protection workers nationwide in the next few years. The training conducted so far were in Foundational Child Protection Practice (FCPP) + FCPP Teaching Lab, Tertiary Child Protection Services (TCPS) and the Competency Framework (CF). Listed below are names of members involved – FCPP TOT: Amy Bala, Dr Azlin Hilma Hillaluddin, Chan Soak Fong, Elsie Lee, Dr Ezarina Zakaria, Dato’ Meme Zainal Rashid, Mumtaj Begum Mohd Sultan, Dr Norulhuda Sarnon, Datin Rodhiah Zakaria, and Dato’ Shamsiah Abdul Rahman.

FCPP Teaching Lab: Amy Bala, Dr Azlin Hilma Hillaluddin, Chan Soak Fong, Doreen Edward, Elsie Lee, Dr Ezarina Zakaria, Hanim Hassan, Lai Poh Guat, Lim Bee Ean, Lydia Ganesan, Dato’ Meme Zainal Rashid, Mumtaj Begum Mohd Sultan, Raymund Jagan, Datin Rodhiah Zakaria, Shoba Aiyar and Vijayakumari Pillai.

TCPS TOT: Amy Bala, Dr Azlin Hilma Hillaluddin, Chan Soak Fong, Elsie Lee, Evelyn Sikul, Faizah Hj Mas’ud, Dr Faizah Yunus, Lai Poh Guat, Lim Bee Ean, Dr Mohd Suhaimi Mohamad, Mumtaj Begum Mohd Sultan, Raymund Jagan, Datin Rodhiah Zakaria, Seng Mei Huey, Shoba Aiyar, Assoc Prof Siti Hawa Ali, Vijayakumari Pillai and Wilhelmina Mowe.

Other participants were from JKM, NGOs and social work education programmes.

Training Conducted A number of training courses were conducted by MASW in 2011 and 2012: Professionally Accountable Practice (PAP): Lai Poh Guat and Elsie Lee ran a workshop for the staff of Good Shepherd Welfare Centre in Ulu Klang in October 2011.

They were also invited by Institut Sosial Malaysia (ISM) to conduct PAP training for social welfare assistants in Tawau, Sabah from 9th – 12th April 2012.

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Introduction to Social Work: Dato’ Shamsiah Abdul Rahman, Dato’ Meme Zainal Rashid, Lai Poh Guat, Dr Azlinda Azman and Teoh Ai Hua were involved in running two TOT programmes for officers of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) in July & November 2011, and in May 2012. Basic Social Work: Lai Poh Guat, Dato’ Shamsiah Abdul Rahman and Elsie Lee conducted basic social work training for staff of Nur Salam in 2011. Care Needs of Children: Datin Rodhiah Zakaria and Amy Bala provided training to the teachers and carers of children at the Rumah Al Qadeem. Foundational Child Protection: Lai Poh Guat and Raymund Jagan conducted a workshop for child-based NGO workers and volunteers which was organised by the Malaysian Child Resource Institute with UNICEF support in April 2012. Child Development, Child Maltreatment and its Effects: Training was provided for staff of the Kompleks Penyayang Home by Dato’ Shamsiah Abdul Rahman, Amy Bala and Raymund Jagan, with support from child psychiatrists from UMMC and UKMMC in April 2012. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

39TH AGM ROUND-UP

The 39th AGM on 27th May 2012 at Armada Hotel saw an attendance of 26 members, with a stimulating talk by guest speaker, Dr Bala Raju Nikku, Director of the Nepal School of Social Work and currently a Visiting Lecturer at USM. Two other guests were Mr Phenny Kakama, Senior Child Protection

Specialist from UNICEF Malaysia, and Mr Law Gin Kye, President of Yellow House. Dr Bala presented an interesting talk on Advancing Professionalism in Social Work across Borders. He covered the development of social work and the progress towards professionalisation and accreditation in several countries of Asia Pacific. He also posed his view for social workers to move from competency to capability, i.e. from the acquisition of knowledge and skills to the acquisition of a holistic attribute – the capability to know how to learn; to be creative; to have a high degree of self-efficacy; can apply competencies in novel as well as familiar situations; and work well with others. His paper has been sent online to members. The AGM proceeded smoothly, made more meaningful with the presence of a few members who had not been coming for a while, especially our Past President, Anthony Tan who, as usual, was vocal during discussions of the Annual Report and Statement of Accounts presented by the Committee.

Past President, Anthony Tan expressing his views

Questions and comments received from members raised concerns about practical placements and supervision of students, training programmes and selection of trainers, permanent staff for MASW, minimum wage for social workers and the Social Workers Draft Bill. The Committee will keep working in smart partnerships with relevant individuals and organisations to see improvement in these areas.

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REPORT ON: UNIMAS 3rd Conference in Advancing Social Work Series: Improving Practice Competencies through Education and Mentoring, 17-18 July 2012, Kuching, Sarawak The conference was organised by the Social Work Programme, Faculty of Social Sciences of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) with the support of the Department of Social Welfare Sarawak and MASW. Three international speakers namely Dr Jenny Martin (RMIT Australia), Dr Pauline Meemeduma (UNICEF Consultant) and Dr Phyllis Chee (Griffith University, Australia) shared their views on supervision. Professor Dr Ismail Baba and Amy Bala spoke on “Making Supervision Part of the Professional Culture: Challenges in Malaysia” during the plenary session. Cik Norani Mohd Hashim, Associate Professor Siti Hawa Ali and Dr Pauline Meemeduma were panel speakers on issues related to the Social Workers Bill. Several other members were actively involved as chairpersons, workshop moderators and rapporteurs to support the Organising Committee. Selected paper presentations can be downloaded from the conference website http://www.ciasw.unimas.my/.

ARTICLE CONTRIBUTION: Crafting Malaysian Social Work as a Transnational Professional Space: ‘Personal Narration of a Transnational Migrant Social Work Educator’ By: Bala Raju Nikkui, MSW, PhD Malaysia with its 28 million population now has approximately 1.9 million foreign workers (some other reports state 2.6 million) spread across sectors such as manufacturing (39%), construction (19%), plantations (14%), housemaids (12%), and services (10%), with the rest in agriculture. The contributing countries by rank are: Indonesia (50.9%), Bangladesh (17.4%), Nepal (9.7%), Myanmar (7.8%), India (6.3%), and the rest from Vietnam. In 1992 the Malaysian government allowed migrant workers into the construction and plantation sector. In 2000, it was extended to manufacturing and services (hotel and restaurants) sectors and in 2002, it was extended to all sectors. 1So the discourse around migrants is not uncommon or a new phenomenon to Malaysia. A recent comment by a senior social work colleague that I was a ‘legal migrant to Malaysia’ triggered some personal reflections which I would like to share with colleagues of Malaysian social workers and beyond. This brief personal and professional description of mine suggests that I am not only a ‘legal migrant to Malaysia’ but also a transnational migrant social worker, qualifying meto Bartley, et al’s explanation of overseas-qualified social worker(s) as member(s) of a global profession experiencing both great international

1 Source:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/foreign-worker-levy-hike-in-2011/

http://www.ciasw.unimas.my/



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demand for their skills and unparalleled flow of professional transnationalism2. They further state that in line with the international social work literature, this cohort of migrant professionals offers a range of needed skills and expertise as well as unique challenges to local employers, client communities and the social work profession as a whole. Does this observation apply to me? I ask myself. Am I able to provide challenges, and what are those skills I have that will enhance or further strengthen the Malaysian social work space? I was given the opportunity to teach two courses at masters’ level: first, Social Work Education for MSW students of second semester and second, Comparative Social Policy in Asia for Asian Studies students. I have successfully completed both the courses and students are getting ready for their final examinations. Now that I am at the end of this semester, I recollect the range of individuals I met, discussed issues right from culture, tourism, food to politics. I realize that within this short span of time, the University academic setting provided me with ample space and opportunities to engage with a variety of stakeholders - right from my students, colleagues, university officials, foreign visitors, NGO and Government representatives, migrant labourers from India and Nepal, embassies to the Malaysian Association of Social Workers. At the same time, I managed to maintain my role as a father, husband and son with my family in India and Nepal and with my social work colleagues in Nepal and all over the world. This experience of mine confirms what Porters, et al., argued: transnational migrants engage in such patterns of intense

2 Bartley, A., Beddoe, L., Duke, J., Fouché, C., Harington.

P.R.J. & Shah, R. (2011). Crossing borders: Key features of migrant social workers in New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work. 23 (3), 16-30.

contact and exchange between both sending and receiving societies (and perhaps others as well), the engaged social fields merge, and create opportunities to pursue alternatives to the conventional path of settlement and ‘gradual but inevitable assimilation’.3 In addition to adjusting to the demands of professional practice in my current new local context, i.e. Malaysia, as a transnational social worker, I have tried to maintain and update working knowledge of social work developments in ASEAN and South Asia Regions (where I come from and where I work now) in particular and the Asia-Pacific in general. It is this ‘simultaneous embeddedness’, a character of transnational migrant has helped me to create a new social space for myself to continue my work, teaching and learning. I have tried to understand the cultural practices, and tailored my classes accordingly, created learning spaces that encouraged students to open up and argue with the printed text. Together we have created a blog and reflected on how to use ICTs for social work teaching and learning. I took time out of my class to understand the aspirations and life world of students balancing professional requirements. I received feedback from my students that they have enjoyed many of my lectures because the examples that I use are from different countries and cultures. While working with the students, wanting them to become reflective social workers, I started to realize that reflective learning is a good approach which can equip young social work students in Malaysia to respond to the rapidly changing Malaysian society and to prepare them as social work educators, researchers and practitioners to name a few.

3Portes, A., Guarnizo, L. and Landolt, P. (1999) ‘The study of

transnationalism: pitfalls and promise of an emergent research field”, Ethnic and racial studies, 22(2): 217 – 236.

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I also realize that this is an exciting time for the 60 years of Malaysian social work history that the Federal Government is going to pass the Social Workers Act (finally), maybe by the end of this year. I hope the Act brings a legal recognition for the social workers and for the profession but Malaysian social workers have to go a long way to ensure that Act is implemented according to its spirit. I am also sure that Malaysia, as an immigrant receiving country continues to attract transnational migrant social workers like me who will further like to join the local efforts to bring recognition to social work as a profession which is a long overdue. With my multiple identities, motives for migration, training standards and values, I continue to explore and aim to transit myself into what it seems like an unfamiliar community of practice as effectively as possible. My day to day encounters and partnerships with Malaysian social work colleagues and welfare bureaucracies may redefine the counters of Malaysian social work. As we work together we shall realize and reconceptualise that transnational practice offers opportunities, not just challenges. By reaching these milestones very soon we will be crafting Malaysia a transnational professional place that serve the best interests of the clients and communities.

iDr Bala Raja Nikku is an Indian by citizenship, aged 42, graduated in social work at an Indian University in 1993 and engaged in direct social work practice with the communities until 2000; enrolled in to PhD

program at the Wageningen University, the Netherlands, and graduated in the year 2006; married to a Nepali citizen in 2002. He is the founding director of Nepal School of Social Work and

currently Visiting Lecturer at the Social Work Program, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. He is also serving on the Board of the Asia Pacific Association of Social Work Education (APASWE). He can be reached at:[email protected] 0060-16-475-8115.

A Fantastic Read For Social Workers… “Picoult’s research is impeccable and she deals intelligently with charged questions about Autism and Asperger’s”- Publisher’s Weekly

HOUSE RULES is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with Asperger’s Syndrome, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviours of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel - and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. HOUSE RULES looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t. _____________________________

Featured Excerpt A Social Worker’s Mission by Jessica Bradstreet, MSW Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from an article from the current (Summer 2012) issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER. I am a social worker. I’m often burnt-out, stressed out, and have to-do lists everywhere I turn around. My computer desktop might just earn me an Axis 1 diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as I have files within files

mailto:[email protected]

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within files, all appropriately named and organized according to job duty the file falls under, category within that job duty, subcategories, and on and on. My Outlook inbox, another madhouse, with “flagged” e-mails to follow up on (I know I must drive people crazy with the number of times I check up on and re-check up on things—this is my public apology to those people), and e-mail archive files with saved important information, also organized into different folders by category and relevance. I have worked hard to get where I am. Yet, as a social worker, I know that one must continue fighting, because it does not matter most days how hard you work. There is still more work to be done. When I leave my job at the end of the day, someone else does not pick up the shift. When I am done for the day, the job is not shut off like a computer. I work with people...they don’t stop at 5 p.m. as I am driving home in traffic. No, no matter what time I drive home, whether it’s an early day because I have completed all of my to-dos for that day, or whether it’s been a very long day, people keep living, keep needing, and the fight still rages on. On an early day, some argue that I am still not so lucky, because on that early day, I may still be responding to e-mails or calls until after 10 p.m. (the calls are usually me staffing and consulting with the employees that I supervise, don’t want you thinking I’m talking to clients that late!). Was it really an early day? I’m not sure. I am over-worked and under-paid. Frankly, I work my butt off. But I don’t always see it that way. One of the things I can say is that I do not punch in on a time clock. I manage my own time (for the most part), and I am my own boss (pretty much, although I work for a private agency). There are a few positives! However, there is always work to be done, things not getting done, and my own professional reputation is still blooming. So, I charge on. To the next day, the next crisis, the next need. I do not have near enough support or resources to do my job. But still, I fight my way to get as much as I can get done, done. I have not given up. Occasionally, I am recognized or appreciated. Sometimes (not often enough), something good happens for one of the foster children in my

program. Something I’ve fought for, the fighting pays off. A child who needed to see a dentist gets to see a dentist. An adoption happens. A child “gets better” with the hard work and help of a good team. I guess that is what keeps me going. At the end of the day, I know that without some of my hard work, my team’s good skills, my annoying e-mails, and my kick-butt organizational skills, something that needs to happen might not happen. And there is always more work to be done. More good work. By a good social worker.

Read the rest of this article at: http://www.socialworker.com/home/Feature_Articles/Professional_Development_%26_Advancement/A_Social_Worker%27s_Mission/ ____________________________________________

EVENTS COMING UP Local:

International Social Work Conference: CRAFTING SYMBIOTIC PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION Bayview Hotel, Georgetown, Penang 28th-30th November 2012 For more information, please visit - http://www.usm-ismpartnership2012.org/

Social Work Club of Universiti Sains Malaysia: Malaysia-Nepal International Social Work Education Programme Project – ‘Competency in Promoting Human Rights’ 1-7 September 2012 Nepal School of Social Work, Kathmandu, Nepal Organised by the social work students of USM with the support of Dr Azlinda Azman, Chair of the Social Work Programme, and Dr Bala Raju Nikku, Visiting Lecturer at USM and Director of the Nepal School of Social Work. Delegation of 10 social work students with academic staff to establish relationship between Malaysia and Nepal, to exchange ideas and experience through a workshop with social work students in Nepal,

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and to visit a few non-government organisations as well as to pay a courtesy call on the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu.

“ACCESSIBLE TOURISM PROMOTES REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT” The 1st South East Asia Conference on Accessible Tourism(SEACAT 2012) 23rd – 25th November 2012 at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur SEACAT 2012 is organised by Beautiful Gate Foundation, together with Malaysia Hotel Association, Malaysia Council for Rehabilitation, National Council for The Blind, Community Support Network and Cheshire National Council in Malaysia. The event is supported by the European Network for Accessible Tourism, Disabled People International Asia Pacific, and sponsored by the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department. It is an event that would result in proactive and concrete action in promoting Accessible Tourism, and the establishment of an Accessible Tourism Network in South-East Asia! Accessible Tourism for the disabled and senior tourists has been emerging in various parts of the world for at least a decade now, but the tourism industry in Malaysia and the South-East Asian region has yet to focus on this group as a market. For more information please visit: www.seacat.beautifulgate.org.my

Regional:

Strengths Based Practice in Social Work and Human Services Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal, 22nd – 24th

November 2012 The conference invites practitioners to reflect on strengthening individuals, groups, communities, and organisations. Medium is Posters, Multimedia and Papers in that order. All contributions Peer refereed. Organized by: Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 30th July 2012 Website: http://www.strengthsbasedpractice.com.au Contact person: Kimberley Lloyd-Jones.

11th International Narrative Therapy and Community Work Conference, Adelaide, Australia 6th– 8th March 2013 Come and join national and international practitioners in exploring thoughtful and diverse forms of narrative therapy and collective narrative practice. Relevant to those working with individuals, families, groups and communities, this event will interweave practice, theory and politics. It will invite practitioners to consider links between therapy, community work, and the creative/performing arts. Past conferences have been in Brazil, Hong Kong, Liverpool, Atlanta, Norway, and Mexico. It will coincide with the World Music Festival WOMADelaide, the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. There are pre-conference workshops on March 4 and 5. More information on: www.dulwichcentre.com.au. IFSW-APASWE Regional Conference 2013 “Social Work in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management: Transforming Threats into Opportunities” Makati City, Philippines, May 15 – 17, 2013 (Details to be announced later)

Call for contributions to next Newsletter – The Editorial Committee wishes to issue six monthly newsletters so articles, reports on events, photos and comments on current social work issues or concerns are sincerely welcomed. Please send in your write-ups in word document format to: The Editorial Committee MASW Newsletter Room 3, 2nd Floor, SSAAS Building No. 16, Jalan Utara 46200 Petaling Jaya Selangor by Fax: 03-7958-4981 or by email: [email protected]

http://www.seacat.beautifulgate.org.my/

http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/

Persatuan Pekerja Sosial Malaysia · 2018-07-01 · Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) in July & November...

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