Disabled Friendly Facilities Have Improved In Singapore

IT is always very encouraging to note when disabled-friendly facilities continue to improve and expand everywhere.

One of the popular local activist on the movement to create liveable cities in Petaling Jaya, Jeffrey Phang, 57, just came back from a weekend holiday in Singapore.

No sooner had the able-bodied social and environmentalist returned, he quickly got his pen cracking in an email to me last week with rhapsodies about his wheelchair-friendly encounters in the Lion City.

Wrote Jeffrey:

“It has been years since I visited Singapore.

“On my latest trip there I was hoping to find ideas on how I could introduce more disabled friendly features into the Kota Damansara community forest where I as chairman led a team of nature-lovers to save the forest which was finally gazetted in 2010.

“We had already initiated wheelchair-friendly designs in 2006 through a small grant. It included a special wheelchair accessible canopy with camping, barbecue facilities and a sand pit where wheelchair-users could roll over and enjoy nature too.

“The funds was used to set some initial infrastructure groundwork for a wheelchair toilet and a pathway into the forest.”     

Jeffrey pointed out that he used his holiday trip with his family to Singapore as an unofficial ‘study trip’ to see how it could help him integrate better disability access for the disabled and senior citizens in the forest and elsewhere.  

The adventure was extremely eye-opening. His first stop was at the Mass Rapid Transit stations in the island city.

“On approaching the station’s entrance, I saw a man on an electric wheelchair coming down a ramp and before I knew it, he had already zoomed past me into the nearby supermarket.

“I was impressed at the way people with otherwise restricting physical conditions could not only move about freely in the station but also do it with incredible speed with their powered wheelchairs!”, Jeffrey who is Associate Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) in Kajang, Selangor pointed out. 

“The ticketing machines had buttons low enough for wheelchair passengers to reach without asking anyone for assistance. There was also a special entrance lane for them that is wider and clearly marked with a wheelchair logo.

“I also noted that the ticket-touch system was a great help instead of fumbling about trying to get a slim card exactly into a slot.”

Jeffrey said he suddenly wondered about other passengers such as the blind, deaf and senior citizens.

He was pleased to see stainless steel guiding blocks built into the highly polished floor all over inside the building.

“This was a brilliant combination of aesthetic beauty incorporating functionality as well for the sighted and the sight impaired.

“The guiding blocks lead all the way to a lift which was clearly marked for the elderly and disabled. All other passengers had to use the escalators.”

Here are more of Jeffrey’s discoveries in brief:

·       Low glass protective barriers at entire length of arrival platform of trains to prevent wheelchairs from accidentally falling into tracks whilst waiting near the edge. The barriers are synchronised with the trains’ doors and open together.

·       The gap between the train and the platform is hardly noticeable providing smooth access to wheelchairs into the train. Inside, there are clear signs of all the train stops in green lighted circles while the current stop is red that constantly blink. Deaf passengers have LED displays with rolling messages that constantly keep them informed with audio announcements. Even which door will open when the train arrives at each destination is clearly indicated with blinking lights. Blind passengers are guided by clear announcements.

·       Seat rows are designed to accommodate wheelchairs. The blind have their clear audio announcements,

·       (In Vivo City) shopping complex, toilets had sliding doors with soft touch electronic buttons at the right wheelchair users’ level, spacious layout with universal design specifications.

·       Singapore Zoo: Visitors with walking difficulties have various options. Services for hire are for young children who need a push chair or play trolley, elderly persons who cannot walk long distances but still desire independent mobility can hire a battery driven vehicle. Even a physically disabled person can steer themselves around the zoo in them. The only equipment that is available free of charge for wheelchairs.

Jeffrey said his excursion made him realise how vital it is for everyone to start including them now in the planning stage rather than later where it can be costly.

He pointed out that it is regretful that the people who need such facilities are the ones like the disabled, elderly and the poor who don’t or never get it.

“As for Kota Damansara, it’s time for everyone to realise that nature also belongs to the elderly and the disabled. We realised this when we brought the blind, wheelchair users and special children to visit the forest.

“And there’s a lot more work to do before the forest can be friendly for everyone.

“In any case, in an aging society everyone will become disabled or less-abled. To ignore accessibility today will be to reap the fruits of our apathy when in our old age we get locked out of society. We will only have ourselves to blame when that happens,” Jeffrey concluded.

The End.

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WEEKEND VIEW: Parents Of The Disabled Need More Recognition For Their Role

TWO TERRIFIC events took place last week. They possess marvellous ramifications for the rights of people with disabilities in our society.  

The first transpired at a community hall in section three in the south of Petaling Jaya.

A group of people numbering nearly a hundred – mostly parents and caregivers of the handicapped – attended a half-day forum on Saturday on how to be more effective in their roles.

The occasion was part of a community based rehabilitation exercise that was organised by state assemblywoman Puan Haniza Talha of Taman Medan in Petaling Jaya.

There are several points that made this workshop truly special.            

First, it was targeted at parents and caregivers of disabled persons. These are frequently the people who are the very backbone of each disabled individual; and yet, they largely and sadly remain “invisible” in the eyes of the public, the media and the government.

Not enough attention is given to the many hardships they have to endure in raising a handicapped child. Quite a few have to cope with two or even three disabled members in the family.

Before the event began, I went around the hall and spoke to some of the parents.

I was shocked to discover how little support or information they had about how to bring up their disabled kids even though they had access to specialists and lived in a vibrant city such as Petaling Jaya.   

      

Clearly those involved in rehabilitation medicine need to drastically change their present methods of treatment in hospitals and find an effective way to bring their care directly into the homes of their patients like what is being done in outreach programmes in many overseas countries.

I was delighted when YB Haniza told me that she was going to set up a support group for the poor parents in her community so that they can come together regularly and share resources with each other.

The speakers at the forum were also brilliant. They were made up of local disabled role models with various handicaps.  

A tetraplegic speaker shared his experiences of how he overcame feelings of depression and suicide when he suddenly became handicapped through a road accident.

He spoke about how his mother eventually changed her negative perceptions of his paralysis to finally accept his abilities in a wheelchair after she saw her son helping other people in a similar condition.

She passed away eight years ago.

Another highlight was a presentation by a rehabilitation doctor who showed picture slides of some of the handicapped aids like special wheelchairs and shower equipment available in Malaysia.

Many of the participants were seeing such things for the first time. They told me later that they were greatly encouraged by the forum and by disabled role models and a parent who spoke about their experiences.         

    

Meanwhile, disabled Malaysians worried about their personal safety will be smiling soon.

This was revealed at a special meeting with the police force that was arranged by national welfare department (JKM) on Wednesday last week.

About 30 persons – ten of them some top brass from the police training force and the rest disability representatives from the blind, Deaf, learning disabilities, little people and the physically handicapped – met at the Jalan Travers police station in Kuala Lumpur.   

The meeting was a follow-up session to an inaugural one held in October of last year.

I wasn’t able to be there for the event but several physically disabled activists who did told me afterwards that the meeting was one of the most promising one so far.

The police force got to once again hear about the special problems faced by the disabled community in matters related to crime and protection.

These included the blind’s difficulty in being able to identify a true law enforcement officer from a crook pretending to be one and running off with their valuables afterwards.

One disabled woman told how she was robbed in broad daylight at their disabled centre by machete-wielding assailants. When she called the police in a state of shock, she was told to “come over to the station to make a report” rather than the police coming to the traumatised victim.  

In a much more recent incident, a middle-aged man in a wheelchair was kicked by an assailant in public. But charges have yet to be filed on him even up to this week.

The issue of wheelchair-friendly accessibility was also seriously raised at the meeting.      

Those who came in wheelchairs found the ramps in the relatively newly-built police station too steep. They couldn’t wheel up on them without assistance. And if they did, their wheelchairs risked dangerously tipping over from the back.

The ramp was also partially blocked by a permanent police signboard stand fixture and a flower pot.

The lifts had no Braille buttons and voice announcements of the floors it stops on.

The handicapped friendly toilet had hardly any room to manoeuvre. The grab bars were all fitted wrongly and the door was a normal one – not a sliding one that is always used for wheelchairs.

As for the carparks, they were way too far from the entrance. Disabled visitors are forced to negotiate with ongoing vehicles to get to the building which is located across the disabled parking.   

The police promised to look into the matter straightaway.

The End

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PJ To Be Disabled Friendly - Malay Mail

PJ to be disabled friendly from now on

By Pauline Almeida August 15, 2008 Categories: Your Council

As of this month, new buildings that need approval for construction have to meet the Technical Committee for the Facilities for the Disabled requirements — that they have lifts, ramps and toilets designed for people with special needs.

Though the committee’s request had been made two years ago, it is being given focus after some disabled members were elected as PJ councillors this year, including activist for the diabled, Anthony Sivabalan Thansayan.

"Back then (2006), nobody bothered. But now we are more serious, that new buildings have facilities for the disabled," said PJ planning and development director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali yesterday.

Sharipah said the requirements were in line with the local council’s Building By-Laws for the Disabled, therefore applications to put up new buildings would only be approved if they fulfil the obligations towards people with special needs.

To date, some 15 applications from developers and architects to put up offices and shoplots in Petaling Jaya are being vetted by this technical committee to ensure developers and architects incorporate disabled-friendly features in their layout plans.

"If they fail to adhere to our criteria, then the building owners will be required to amend building plans to get approval for construction," said Marhaini.

Parliament Not Disabled-Friendly

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.

ILTC SLAMS MPC FOR BEING DISABLED-UNFRIENDLY

Monday, May 12, 2008

Disappointed with Malaysian Paralympic Council - During Closing Ceremony

Now Is The Time To Bring Changes............

Comment From President of ILTC.

[Tetraplegic Francis Siva, right, with his companion/assistance helper Dusty, the Golden Retriever.]

A group of 10 ILTC members were invited to the closing ceremony of the Paralimpiad Malaysia XIV Kuala Lumpur which was held from May 3 to May 9, 2008 at the Bukit Jalil stadium.


On behalf of ILTC, we very much disappointed with organizing committee due to their poor hospitality such as not having enough of volunteers in the stadium. Also the lift was out of order and etc, making it very inconvenient to the disabled.

As President of ILTC, I would like to give my comment on that day.

My disabled friends and I had to push our wheelchairs one corner to another corner of the stadium. We were looking for volunteers to help us but we could not find anyone.

In the stadium the entrance road towards the hall was too dangerous for the disabled. Sad to say that, the organizing committee did not take proper care with the accessibility.

The Malaysian Paralympic Council did not understand the basic needs of the disabled.

I had observed personally on the day that most disabled athletes could not speak for themselves.

I hope that, the president for the Malaysian Paralympic Council , Datuk Zainal Abu Zarin must be very careful in organizing such a event in future.

ILTC hopes that the council should appoint disabled persons to sit in their executive council.

The disabled persons may have new ideas which could be of help to the council to ensure that they are comprehensive in all aspects of accessibility and people-friendly features.

Francis Siva
President
ILTC

PKR's New Office - But Is It Disabled-Friendly? (Comments On Malaysiakini's Report Today)

QUICK COMMENT: One is delighted for PartiKeadilan Rakyat and its spanking new office space.

However, the crucial question is: Is it disabled-friendly?

This is what that truly matters in the end for Malaysians with disabilities - especially those in wheelchairs and with walking difficulties.

And let's also not forget the elderly as well.

Quite a few of them I have learnt had put in their votes for a change in Government in our unforgettable polls last March.

Lets hope that PKR - and all other opposition parties - in turn do not forget about their responsibilities to the disabled voters as well as to an ever increasing ageing community.

More and more political ceramahs in the next General Elections will have to start thinking about their needs too when the time comes around.

Of course, it would be hard for PKR to have disability access in their new office if the building itself was not constructed for wheelchairs in its original plan. And from our past experiences, we can't help but feel skeptical about these things that have always been left out.

However, that should not stop or discourage PKR from trying to find solutions to the problem.

One of them could be to create a hot line for disabled Malaysians so that they could at least be able to call the office - even if it was difficult for them to get inside.

Someone in the office can then come downstairs (for the handicapped who can drive) and attend to their needs.

But for the more paralysed, bedridden and poor, PKR officers can make arrangements to go to their homes to help them - something that the previous Government had lacked in its obligations.

Just before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was arrested in 1998, I recall him giving a speech in the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. It was extremely significant for all disabled people in Malaysia.

He expressed his regret and sadness over the fact that many buildings in Malaysia were still not disabled-friendly.

Something we regret to observe that has changed very little since his unshackling from the prison walls.

The former Deputy Prime Minister was also quoted in the media at the time as reminding all government bodies, corporate sectors and all Malaysians to NOT forget their social responsibilities.

Never neglect the needs of the disabled, he said.

aNt
PET+BLOGSPOT

The Malaysiakini report today:

Opposition PKR will be moving its headquarters from Brickfields to the upmarket Tropicana area in Petaling Jaya next week - barely two months after scoring its biggest electoral victory in the March 8 polls.

The move will be part of its post-election strategy to strengthen the party’s base and work force, as well as to “centralise” the operation of the parent body, Youth and Wanita wings.

pkr new headquarters 020508" title="merchant square pkr new headquarters 020508" align="left" height="208" width="300">The new headquarters will be two spanking new five-storey shop-office buildings located at Merchant Square, which is near the Damansara toll plaza and visible along the highway.

According to PKR treasurer William Leong, the two buildings will cost the party RM5 million.

“We haven’t bought it yet, we will move in and rent it for the moment while we are raising the fund. The eventual plan is to buy the buildings,” he told Malaysiakini earlier this week.

While the party workers are expected to start moving into the new office in stages from next week, the date of the official launch of the new headquarters is yet to be set.

PKR emerged to be the biggest opposition party in the March 8 polls, winning 31 parliamentary seats from only a single seat it controlled after the 2004 poll.

Its allies DAP and PAS won 28 and 23 parliamentary seats respectively.

To house Anwar’s office

The plan to move the PKR headquarters was first disclosed by party vice-president Azmin Ali during an interview with Malaysiakini last week.

According to him, the new headquarters - which is undergoing its final stage of renovation - will also serve as its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s new office.

Anwar’s office, a bungalow resided by party leader and Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim previously, is currently located at Section 16 in Petaling Jaya.

azmin ali 02" title="azmin ali 02" align="left" height="64" width="64">“After all we are going to be there only for three months, then we will move to Putrajaya, so not to worry,” quipped Azmin when pressed for more details on the new headquarters.

He was obviously referring to the Pakatan Rakyat’s ambitious plan to take over the federal government after claiming it has enough number of defectors from among the Barisan Nasional.

On the plan to buy the buildings, Azmin said the fund will be raised from the public and party members as he denied it was solicited from any particular individuals.

PKR moved into its current headquarters in Brickfields from Shah Alam about three years ago.

PKR’s ally, PAS has also moved its headquarters from Gombak to the heart of Kuala Lumpur last May in an attempt to put a face of modernity to the Islamic party’s image.