A WOW WEEKEND

WHAT AN AMAZING WEEKEND the just concluded one turned out to be!

I was virtually bedridden on Thursday with a horrible fever that I had to call a doctor over to see me. She soon sorted my infection out with a strong dose of antibiotics.

Fortunately I had my dogs with me 24/7. That helped tremendously to keep my positive spirits up at all times.

My worst worry was that I would be too sick to go out and vote on Saturday last weekend.

Fortunately for me, the antibiotics did the trick. It broke my fever within 24 hours.

The next thing I knew, Petpositive's helper and member Dr Chung Tze Yang was wheeling me to the local school in our neighbourhood to vote.

But not before Ntv7 catching up with us at the front gate, and me giving an interview for them after Dr Chung and I had voted.

I was impressed with the SPR people because the moment they spotted me, one of them came forward to help - even though Dr Chung was wheeling me.
This I thought was a good thing as extra help is always a sight for sore eyes for the disabled and even a caregiver.

The SPR guy however did struggle with my wheelchair a bit. He obviously didn't know how to lift it up over the tiny step into the classroom which was my voting room.

Another good part of having him with me was that he told me exactly what I needed to do inside the classroom - except who to vote for, of course! He was there also in case I could not reach the ballot boxes and needed help.

Having said that, I am extremely disappointed to learn that not all the disabled had assistance the way I did when they went to vote.

Some centres refused to open the gates to allow disabled drivers inside the compound. Others were made to unnecessarily wheel up steep hills. This was true even for persons with walking difficulties.

I was also disappointed to note that the school in which I voted - Catholic High School in Section 10 - had not improved at all on its accessibility features since I've been voting there for over three elections.

This means that students in wheelchairs are not at all welcome in their school which really is a horrible thing for any school to do in this day and age.

That - and the accessibility of all schools for wheelchairs is something I certainly will bring up to the new Selangor Menteri Besar when he takes office.

After the voting, I was interviewed by Radio24 - the broadcaster operated by the Malaysian News Agency Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.

The interview was done as I sat in my parked car somewhere in Gasing Indah in Petaling Jaya.

The studio called me on my mobile phone.

The main thing I said was that elections were wonderful because it made disabled and non disabled people truly equal through our voting rights.

Then came the shock and awe news of the elections results on Sunday morning.

From what I gather, many Malaysians are glad over the outcome with the opposition having five states now to their name.

They also have a much sizable representation in Parliament too.

Selangor in particular has gone to the opposition, namely Parti Keadilan Rakyat it appears.

I am personally delighted in looking forward to having a new Selangor Mentri Besar soon.

However, the main question is how aware will our new boys and gals in the non Barisan be about the needs of people with disabilities?

And animal rights, too. Let's not forget that!

This will certainly be a challenge for Petpositive to take up in the next five years.

Happy New Government everybody!

aNt
PET+BLOGSPOT