Envelopes Provide A Lifeline for The Disabled

By Siti Salwa Shaari KUANTAN (Pahang), July 4 (Bernama) -- His eyes diligently observed the white sheets of paper arranged neatly on the cutting machine before carefully placing the cutting knife, that is infact a diamond-like shaped mould, on top of the sheets. Only when he is really satisfied with its position, the 44-year-old Junaidi Jamaludin presses two green buttons that prompts the metal weights to pound on the copper cutting knives to cut through the paper in seconds. The tall and lanky man, who has learning disability, then picks up the nicely cut paper and hands them over to colleagues waiting at their respective tables. "My friends will fold them into envelopes. I'm the only one with permission to cut the paper. It's nice that they have entrusted me with this difficult task," he said smiling proudly. PROUDLY WORKING FOR A LIVING Perak state-born Junaidi, who now resides in Bukit Kuantan, is one of 15 people with disabilities who independently earn an income making envelopes at the Sungai Lembing Envelope Workshop here. The workshop equipped with hostel facilities makes, supplies and delivers envelopes in an assortment of sizes to government departments, hospitals and the private sector. In another corner, Zakaria Ibrahim, 52, is seated in a wheelchair while he folds paper into a 110x220mm envelope before spreading glue with a brush to achieve an even finish. "If you receive an envelope from the Pahang government bearing the words 'Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda' (On His Majesty's Service), we are the ones who made the envelopes. We also make envelopes for x-ray films used by hospitals," he said. Zakaria, who is fondly known as Pak Ya, said he began working at the workshop on Sept 2, 1991. Now he can fold between 1,500 to 2,000 envelopes during a nine hours working day that begins at 8.30am. As a veteran, Zakaria, who hails from Tanjung Api here, is used to passing on knowledge to new trainees who are accepted on a trial basis at the workshop. "Our job is not as easy as it looks. It took me over a month to master the art of folding neatly, not exceeding the lines and avoiding excessive glue which will make the envelopes stick together," said Zakaria. He added that they will use moulds to ensure uniformity in size when folding small envelopes, while new workers are supervised by supervisor Raja Noralisah Raja Ali, 42, to ensure client satisfaction. During his time there, Zakaria has seen many trainees simply gave up because they failed to master the art of folding the envelopes or lack the patience to carry out the job. WORKSHOP DEMANDS Meanwhile, workshop manager Suhaili Abu Saari, 40, said they receive orders for the envelopes through e-procurement and local orders, with 90 per cent of orders coming from government departments. On average, the workshop produces some 1.3 to 1.4 million envelopes a year and though it is a big amount Suhaili admitted they work hard to generate income for the workshop as its monthly expenses could reach RM10,000 (about US$2,500). The expense covers the salary of workers, cook, utilities and working capital to buy paper, while the envelopes are sold for RM36 (US$9) for the 110x220mm size and RM43.50 (US$10.90) for the 165x229mm size for every 500 pieces. The most expensive is 75 sen (US$0.20) for an x-ray envelope. "To supplement income, we also do catering. Workers are welcome to peel onions, chop chili or vegetables, lift and arrange items. "As Sungai Lembing is a tourist attraction, we also rent out space to motorcycle rental services for RM200 (US$50) a month," she said. Suhaili added that she was grateful to have workers who understood the meaning of responsibility and did not mind helping out with additional work to earn a little bit more. Therefore, she hoped more private companies will use their services to produce envelopes like two law firms which ordered envelopes complete with the firm's address and letterhead. SELECTION Commenting on worker selection, Suhaili said a majority were hired through the Social Welfare Department though there were some who came personally after hearing about the workshop. "The training period is three months. If they fail, we will contact their family members to take back the trainee because we cannot continue to support them as each of our worker is required to pay RM100 (US$25) a month for food and hostel accommodation. "We also hold dialogue sessions with the family of trainees because we don't want them to think the workshop as a care centre where they can just send and leave their family members without checking in on them and their needs," she said. Suhaili has also met families who asked for the salaries to be given to them, to which she firmly replied that workers have full ownership of their salary. "They (family members) say this group of people does not know how to use money, but from my experience my workers can manage themselves. They know how to buy things they need such as soap and toothpaste or food when they feel like it," she added. LIKE FAMILY Suhaili added that they were all close and that she was like a mother of adult children, looking out for their safety and making sure they did not stay out till late at night. She explained that a worker's salary was based on the total number of envelopes produced. Veterans like Zakaria and Junaidi are entrusted with counting the numbers of envelopes completed. Meanwhile, workers with learning disabilities are taught to count to bundle 50 envelopes together to allow Raja Noralisah to record the total amount. "I've also informed clients to let us know if the number of envelopes sent falls short. There was once a department informed us their order fell short by three envelopes. We immediately posted the remaining," she said. -- BERNAMA