PETPOSITIVE NEWSFLASH!
DATELINE PARLIAMENT HOUSE KUALA LUMPUR:
Rumours are rife that a disabled senator - believed to be a woman in a wheelchair - will be sworn in at 10am here tomorrow.
If true, it will be Malaysia's second handicapped senator after appointing a blind one, now deceased, a few years ago.
The news is being received with serious concern by several prominent disability activists who are expressing suspicion
over the secrecy of the appointment.
"The issue of disability rights and welfare are vital to the more than estimated 15 percent of the population in improving their quality of lives," said tetraplegic activist Chong Tuck Meng from Bentong in Pahang in an immediate reaction to the unconfirmed report.
"Any candidate should have been discussed with key disability leaders first regarding their selection. As our issues are critical, we can't afford to have individuals who merely warm the seat instead of working hard for change in our most important House in our nation," added Chong who became permanently disabled 30 years ago.
"We are not interested in disabled persons who are academics who have only been interested in their own welfare rather than others," said G Francis Siva, also a quadriplegic and president of Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia.
"The best candidate would be someone from the grassroots who will be able to easily connect with the poor and suffering.
The previous disabled senator - an academic - was an utter disappointment and we don't want a repeat of that happening. The lives and future of disabled Malaysians are far too costly for that." Said Francis who has been handicapped for as long as Chong.
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