Disabled Senator is Wrong Choice Say Activists

Disabled senator: Best wishes from PM, criticism from community

November 19, 2013

Physically challenged translator K Bathmavathi's appointment as a senator yesterday saw some leaders of the disabled community questioning the criteria used to pick her.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has sent greetings to K Bathmavathi, a physically challenged translator who took oath as senator yesterday.

“Selamat berkhidmat,” Najib said in his latest tweet attached with a message of the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim on the appointment.

Rohani in her Twitter account this morning thanked Najib for selecting Bathmavathi to represent people with disabilities in Malaysia.

Bathmavathi, 59, a member of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (OKU) as well as is a writer and a freelance translator was appointed as OKU Senator to replace visually-impaired economist Prof Dr Ismail Md Salleh who died of a heart attack in 2009.

However other disabled community leaders were less forthcoming in welcoming Bathmavathi’s appointment.

Anthony Thanasayan, an MBPJ councillor, questioned Bathmavathi’s contributions towards the disabled community.

“It is a wrong choice made by the ministry to have her in as a representative for the disabled as she has poor track record in helping the disabled,” he told FMT.

“What is the criteria for the selection? Who did the ministry consult before making the appointment?” asked Thanasayan

Another disabled activist, Francis Siva, said his disabled group was not consulted while making the decision for the community’s representative in parliament.

“The government did not work with the grassroots people for the selection and it is the community which is suffering due to this,” said the president of Independent Living and Training Centre for the Disabled.

He added that the disabled community needed a representative in the parliament who can work at a grassroots level.

PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then are now 250,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in PET+BLOGSPOT are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.org You can also find us in Facebook under PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support for our work. Thank you!