THE FOLLOWING is a press release by PETPOSITIVE which was printed in the Letters section of The Star yesterday.Tuesday May 20, 2008
Parliament lacks facilities for the disabled
WE ARE most delighted to learn that work to expand the car park in the Parliament compound starts this week “80 more parking lots for Parliament,” (The Star, May 19).
It seems the decision was made after the Chief Administrator of Parliament Datuk Kamaruddin Baria noticed an increase of visitors to Parliament recently.
Datuk, did you also notice that Parliament House has no disabled-friendly car parks?
About 30 of us in wheelchairs and walking aids came to Parliament recently and had a terrible time trying to park our vehicles as able-bodied drivers took up all the lots.
The usual parking bay nearest to the entrance was about 200m or more away – a nightmare for people with walking difficulties as well as those in wheelchairs.
If space is a big concern, kindly give us at least two parking lots. They must be immediately next to the entrance of Parliament House.
If there is no shelter above the cars to protect us from the elements, one should be provided. The only ramp currently available to get into Parliament looks more like a goods ramp. It is steep and dangerous.
And while we are on the subject, there are also no disabled-friendly toilets in Parliament.
Not only did we feel outraged by this during our visit but it also made us extremely sad and embarrassed.
Has it occurred to you that we could very well be one of the few, or even the only Parliament House in the world that does not care to have any disabled-friendly features?
ANTHONY SIVA BALAN THANASAYAN,
President,
The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association
(PETPOSITIVE),
Kuala Lumpur.
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