HOME
COLUMNS
Developing to doom
Trashing our treasures
Who betrayed my friend?
Rainbow of faiths
NEWS
MCA stages anti-toll hike protest
Litrak’s RM80 mil profit and still counting...
What is Effendi’s game plan?
Flood toll rises to 11
Sup mamak penguat tenaga batin?
Video: ‘Historic’ MCA anti-toll protest
Second low-cost terminal to open in Sabah
AirAsia tips record quarterly profits
Gov’t says no to grand mufti proposal
2006 X-files: An inelegant silence
LETTERS
A wish list for 2007
A ‘two car’ blast from the past
Time for gov’t to give disabled a hand
VMY 2007: Immigration dept ruining it
KL needs to explore busways before road pricing
Have we set our food priorities right?
A prayer for peace and harmony
Abiding by the Quran, making God happy
We need to treat dogs better
Malaysian football badly needs a kick up the ....
OPINION/FEATURES
A study on the nationalists’ struggle
O'Rise, America’s ghost of Vietnam
An invitation to rethink nation’s modern history
A fresh look at race relations
Time for gov’t to give disabled a hand
Anthony Thanasayan
Dec 29, 06 3:59pm Adjust font size:
Media reports that there will be an increase in toll fares come next year, has naturally got many a Malaysian worried. However, none are quite as alarmed and anxious over the news as the few hundred drivers with disabilities in the country.
Although little attention is given to them when our society thinks about motorists, theirs is a story that is truly worth considering when toll rates go up. Most handicapped Malaysians stay at home; not because they want to but because they have no choice in the matter.
Despite everything that’s been said about how successful Malaysia, public transportation is virtually out of bounds to the disabled with no buses that are wheelchair-friendly and taxis services being too expensive for the handicapped.
The lucky ones borrow or beg from kind souls and use all their savings to buy cars in a desperate attempt to get out of their homes and be mobile. Ridiculously, they have to buy their own cars first before they can enter driving schools because the latter does not provide disabled-friendly vehicles for their courses..
Modified cars for disabled drivers cost not only an arm and a leg but these models haven’t been upgraded for donkeys’ years. Drivers who use wheelchairs still face a mountain of difficulties when they get out on the roads in their cars.
Able-bodied drivers still rudely honk or show the finger at them for not possessing lightning speed reflexes like them. Let’s not even talk about parking slots for the disabled being pinched from them.
The recent petrol hikes practically grounded many disabled drivers. Although the prices spiralled, the little that they earned in wages didn’t. Just before Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad left office, he scrapped the road tax requirement for disabled drivers in order to give them a little helping hand in life.
It seems to us that the government ought to come around once again for the disabled and give them another push in life, this time by exempting them from toll payments.
The writer is president, Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PetPositive).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you have a viewpoint you want to share? Speak up! Send your 'Letters to the Editor' to editor@malaysiakini.com. Your letter may be published in Malaysiakinis Letters forum, and do let us know if you wish to remain anonymous. We reserve the right to edit your letters for language and clarity.
Think of disabled who’ll never be athletes
Dec 5, 06 4:33pm
Have at least basic accessibility for the disabled
Dec 1, 06 4:25pm
Mobility for disabled: Let Penang Monorail be catalyst
Nov 6, 06 5:16pm
Crime: Elderly, disabled most vulnerable
Sep 29, 06 6:20pm
Monorail, bullet train should be disabled-friendly
Aug 11, 06 3:12pm
Thai AirAsia’s disabled policy discriminatory
Aug 4, 06 3:14pm
Disabled parking needs proper planning
Apr 12, 06 3:31pm
Dog issue: MBSA shouldn’t exclude disabled
Jan 17, 06 3:26pm
Catholic Church must address policy towards disabled
Aug 4, 03 09:13am
ADVERTISEMENT
Copyright © 1999-2006 Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment