Disabled, Elderly And Our General Elections

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: Here is a letter published in The Sun on the fourth of this month by Captain AKS Russell, one of Our Society's eminent advisers. On this day when Malaysians go to vote at the polls, his thoughts give us much to think about especially in how we treat the disabled and elderly in our Society.

Change the hard reality for disabled and elderly

(Tue, 04 Mar 2008)

The 12th general election falls on March 8, and on that day voters will elect new members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
A substantial percentage of voters will be disabled in one way or the other, and many will be senior citizens. They include the deaf, blind, elderly and infirm, those using wheelchairs, those with walking difficulties, and those suffering from disabling diseases, will all be voting for the candidates of their choice.
All these people have specific and vital needs, which if fulfilled, will enable them to fully participate in all aspects of daily life. Sadly and shamefully for Malaysia, in the past their needs have never been met, they have been excluded, marginalised, shunned and neglected.
There has been lots talking, numerous unproductive seminars, studies, overseas study tours and many half-hearted promises, but when one takes a look around, very little change, or anything of substance has materialised.
Even in Kuala Lumpur it is most difficult, if not impossible for those with disabilities, and the aged to used public transport, or to gain access to buildings, even those housing civil service offices, banks, post offices and the like.
Some examples of totally inaccessible pubic transport are the KL Monorail, all but one of the LRT systems, most of the buses (even the RapidKL so called "Disabled Accessible Buses" are poorly designed), the KTM Komuter train service, express buses, etc.
There are numerous specific examples of inaccessible buildings. These include banks (Maybank, Affin Bank, etc., and many Post Office branches which are located in the first floor of buildings where no lift is provided and in some cases even when there is a lift, it can only be used after negotiating several steps. Even some hospitals and clinics are inaccessible to wheelchair users.
Many new buildings do not even comply with existing laws which stipulate basic requirements regarding accessibility. One can be excused for speculating that this is due to cases of bribery and corruption, resulting in non-enforcement of the law.
Disabled pedestrians, especially the blind and those using wheelchairs are defeated in their efforts to go out by either the total absence of pavements, or pavements which more often than not have high curbs without wheelchair ramps or have ramps which are so steep as to be useless and potentially hazardous.
Obstructions impede the use of pavements; these may be open drains and manholes, trees, hawker stalls, lampposts, signs, etc.
The absence of, or incorrectly installed, tactile markings to guide the blind, low and badly sited signposts which will be a danger not only to the blind but also to others add to the precariousness of walking.
The lights on pedestrian controlled crossings either do not work, or do not have an audible signal for the benefit of the blind, and the lack of walkways across the central road reservations (like those in Cyberjaya, the new multimedia super corridor city) at some pedestrian crossings, and other shortcomings only add to the problem.
(There are so many things wrong, that a full report would encompass several volumes, even for Kuala Lumpur alone.)
Detailed studies regarding accessibility for the disabled have been carried out in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and elsewhere in the past. One such study was conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (Jica), but studies such as these seem to have been a complete waste of time and money, and they must be gathering dust in the "file & forget" category, since both KL City Hall (DBKL) and the government have apparently never acted upon them.
In towns and cities elsewhere in Malaysia the situation is even more appalling.
Take Seremban for example, where even the able bodied are dicing with death whenever they try to cross the road.
The newly elected representatives of each and every area of every state, and the new MPs need to get out and about and witness for themselves how backward Malaysia is when it comes to providing access for all by using the principles of Universal Design.
Then they should pledge to be fully committed to ensuring that during their term of office they fulfil their duties to serve all the people including the disabled and the elderly.
Mere words, token handouts, patronisation and words of pity are not appreciated, and are demeaning. What is required is sincerity, true commitment, and the correct positive action to make certain that everywhere in Malaysia is barrier free, accessible to all and that discrimination of the disabled and the elderly is a thing of the past.
The recent Federal Legislation (Act 685 - Persons With Disabilities Act 2008) is a useless and toothless Act, which is only for show, mere lip service and a pathetic attempt to silence the disabled.
Such tactics will never be successful.
What is required is a comprehensive Disability Discrimination Act which makes it an offence for anyone, be it the government, the civil service, an organisation, a private company or other body individually or collectively to discriminate against the disabled in any way whatsoever. This Act should also contain provisions which allow those using service animals, for example, guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf, seizure alert dogs for epileptics, and other service and assistance animals, to bring their service animals anywhere without restriction.
Such a Disability Discrimination Act could be modelled after legislation in force in many countries such as the UK, the US, Australia and elsewhere.
On behalf of all the disabled in Malaysia, and all such visitors, sincere thanks to the elected leaders for reading this, and for hopefully pledging to take steps to ensure substantial improvements for the disabled and the elderly.
Abdul Karim Stuart Russell
Advisor
Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy For The Disabled And Elderly Association
(PetPositive)

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