KOTA KINABALU: A nine-month study on inclusive entrepreneurship for Sabah’s hearing-impaired community has concluded, with its report handed to the Sabah Society for the Deaf (SSD).
The handover took place at SSD’s premises in Bukit Padang here, marking the end of the project titled ‘Ke Arah Keusahawanan Inklusif: Kajian Terhadap OKU Pendengaran di Pantai Barat Sabah’ (‘Towards Inclusive Entrepreneurship: A Study of Hearing-Impaired Persons with Disabilities in West Coast Sabah’).
The project was funded under the Ministry of Higher Education’s Social Research Grant (Bil. 1/2025) with an allocation of RM33,800, and ran from Sept 1, 2025 to June 1, 2026.
The report was presented by the research team to SSD president Liau Kee Siong, according to the statement on Aug 23.
The project was led by Nur Angriani Nurja, a lecturer at Politeknik Kota Kinabalu’s Department of General Studies, with Rabeah Md Zin (Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah), Mohd Arami Md Jais (Kolej Komuniti Penampang), Noraini Lunchin (Politeknik Kota Kinabalu) and Mohd Zulhasnan Mat (Politeknik Kota Kinabalu) as team members.
The study examined the role of micro-entrepreneurship in strengthening economic stability among the hearing-impaired community, including communication barriers, limited job opportunities and the need for a more inclusive entrepreneurial support ecosystem.
Carried out in collaboration between Politeknik Kota Kinabalu and SSD, the research covered Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Papar, targeting 15 to 20 participants aged between 18 and 45.
Its scope included identifying obstacles faced by hearing-impaired persons in micro-entrepreneurship, assessing readiness and existing support, and proposing measures to support their economic stability and wellbeing.
The project is expected to contribute to policy development for more inclusive entrepreneurship support and to strengthen ties between the hearing-impaired community and agencies involved in entrepreneurship development, according to the statement.
Both parties expressed hope that the collaboration between Politeknik Kota Kinabalu and SSD would continue, to widen opportunities for the hearing-impaired community to build economic independence.
