MBPJ reaches out to the poor, disabled and the elderly

Wednesday August 18, 2010

Census on number of poor and disabled in PJ

By FAZLEENA AZIZ
fazleena@thestar.com.my

THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is embarking on a census to determine the number of poor, old and disabled people in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya, to better serve them.

The project is aimed at gathering data on the socio-economic, physical environment, health and lifestyle aspects of the people.

The first phase of Projek Sejahtera Komuniti programme will include 100 families living in low-cost units in Taman Petaling Utama, Taman Medan Jaya, Taman Maju Jaya, Pangsapuri Permai and Taman Medan Cahaya.

Helped the poor: Haniza (sixth from right) with some of the residents from Taman Medan after presenting the contribution. Also present were Sharipah Marhaini (right) and Thanasayan (second from right).

Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Talha said the areas were chosen for its high density and racial diversity.
She said the week-long campaign would start on Sept 22 and involve 15 MBPJ personnel from the engineering, town planning and buildings departments.

“The first phase will be focused on improving the physical environment like house toilets.
“We have allocated RM50,000 for this purpose, which is a collaborative effort from the council and developer,” she said.

A total of 10 toilets, which had been identified earlier would be made disabled-friendly.
Haniza said this was not a cosmetic approach and they would come in as coordinators to determine how help could be given accordingly.

MBPJ town planning director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali said the next phase would be in Lembah Subang and Kota Damansara.

In Petaling Jaya Selatan the areas include Kampung Datuk Harun and Desa Mentari.

“There are 472 registered poor under MBPJ, which is considered a conservative figure as Petaling Jaya’s population is 600,000,” she said, adding the number of senior citizens was increasing.

In Selangor, people with household income below RM1,500 were considered poor.
Also present was councillor Anthony Thanasayan, who said the disabled community was considered to be the poorest among the poor.

The council would be working with several non-governmental organisations like Pet Positive, Rumah Amal Cheshire, Beautiful Gate Disabled Centre, Community Service Centre for the Deaf, Malaysian Association for the Blind as well as Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia to help facilitate financial assistance for those wanting to do business.

In several identified areas, the council will be make the parks more disabled-friendly.

The council would also be working with doctors and health experts for those needing consultation.

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