aNt's Unbelievable Week!

FROM WHEEL POWER IN THE STAR

LAST week was unbelievable!

It started on a very happy and positive note.

The long and much anticipated swearing-in ceremony of the remaining four city councillors of Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) was finally announced.

The solemn event took place on Monday afternoon in the mayor’s office.

My name appeared on the list with three newcomers.

I was simply overjoyed not only about getting in again, but more so to be able to get on with my job at last in serving the residents and communities of PJ.

As it turned out, the three-month wait was really a blessing in disguise.

It gave me time to do a lot of serious thinking and soul-searching about all that I had done before under the council. It also helped me to decide what I want to prioritise and do in future, from now on.

The experience not only helped strengthen my resolve as councillor, but it also enabled me to develop newer strategies for success, in particular, over my two pet projects which are disability and animal welfare.

No sooner had I got in, my email, social networks and mobile number were already flooded with congratulatory messages.  People also wanted to know when I could start following up on their issues again.

One resident leader, for instance, wanted me to get MBPJ to take action against the illegal hawkers that were causing a nightmare in the neighbourhood with their rubbish, noise and weekend traffic jams.

Another call was about a drain-repair work promise that never got started. A dangerous pot hole was also waiting to be fixed.

A chief project on my plate, however, is to work with the engineering department to build a disabled-friendly car park and wheelchair ramp for a state assemblyperson’s service centre in a poor area of PJ.

This will involve making numerous visits to the site to make sure the specifications are followed to the letter.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of being invited by the almost 90-year old Malaysian Kennel Association (MKA) to join them in an important discussion meeting with the Subang Jaya council (MPSJ) over last month’s dog attack that killed an elderly jogger.

The presentation by the MKA was brilliant. We saw a number of statistical data from other countries where banning dog breeds did not reduce dog attacks. Rather, it was education about responsible pet ownership that eventually brought about positive results.

The highlight of the week, however, was clearly the protest organised by about 30 wheelchair users against the Kuala Lumpur city council (DBKL).

I joined them too. The experience was incredibly eye-opening.

We were there to show our dissatisfaction and disgust in the way a 60-year old wheelchair user’s plea to City Hall for a unit in a low cost flat fell on deaf ears for over two years.     

The elderly man, who has had polio since as a child, and who works as a toilet cleaner was forced to sleep in his car in the car park of the flat for all that time.

Even the Welfare Department, according to him, had turned down his cry for help only the week before saying that there was nothing that they could do.  

It was after this terrible sad state of affairs when the handicapped community decided to come together and declare that such apathy was totally unacceptable of any government and society.

Even though it took them an hour or two just to get ready, they arrived in their wheelchairs and walking sticks on time.

Several of them had no transport of their own. They braved taxis instead to get there; even though they could not afford them.

Others came in their three-wheeled motorcycles. One or two came in their own cars.

The sight of such strong support from the disabled community made the elderly man and his wife choke back their tears as they poignantly told their story to the press.

We all said that we would not go back home until the DBKL gave the couple a unit to stay that very day.

Some of us even suggested that until City Hall provided the unit, the gentleman and his wife should be put up in a hotel as the local council’s guests.

We said this because DBKL had given him a letter in early 2011, promising him a unit.

The episode fortunately ended with good news.

The top brass instructed that a unit be prepared and given to him within 48 hours.

Despite all the difficulty it took to hold the press conference, all of us were glad – none more than the elderly man and his wife – that the couple will soon have a proper place to sleep at night.

But the question that still kept burning in our hearts is will it have to take such big shows of support for people with special needs each and every time in order for local councils to take notice of them?   

THE END

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