The Education Ministry's foray into early intervention services began in 2004 for children below six who have visual, hearing and learning impairments. The basic problems of running early intervention centres are lack of resources, trained staff and financial support from the Malaysian Government. The NGOs rely largely on donations and volunteers to keep the centres going. The long waiting list is not unusual as the number of special needs children continues to rise.
In 2003, primary education was made compulsory, but the services for learning disabled students remain limited and fragmented.
