SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT MR SENATOR!

MALAYSIA'S FIRST DISABLED SENATOR Prof Dr Ismail Mohd Salleh, should have shown his support for YB Karpal Singh in Parliament instead of remaining silent.

This was what more than half of readers opined in a PET+BLOGSPOT POLL recently.

They were reacting to the incident in April 30 last month when the DAP leader - in a wheelchair - was ridiculed by two Members of Parliament when they asked why he did not stand up first before addressing the House.

One of the MP is an Independent whilst the other is from Barisan.

The incident infuriated the disabled community - including Petpositive. It led the Society to jointly organise a memorandum handing-over event in Parliament House on the eighth of this month.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Ismail who is also adviser to the Prime Minister on matters regarding the disabled, commented that what had happened to Karpal was not a disabled issue.

His response has been condemned by Petpositive and the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor. Both leaders of the NGOs are longtime wheelchairs users.

"It is a disgrace that of all persons, a disabled senator, should say such a thing," said Anthony Thanasayan, leader of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association.

"Ismail should vacate his position immediately and let someone else represent our needs in Parliament," echoed Francis Siva, president of the self-help support NGO ILTC.

Thirty three percent of the voters thought that Ismail who is also president of the Malaysian Association for the Blind, should speak up more for concerns of disabled people in Malaysia.

And equal number of respondents also called for his immediate resignation over the Karpal issue. They said his silence and lackadaisical attitude proved that he was inept for his position.

Some accused him of being only concerned about the blind.

However, PET+BLOGSPOT has received complaints from a number of blind individuals who say that Ismail has yet to raise any of their issues at all since his appointment as senator on December 19 of last year.

Only two voters thought that Ismail was doing a good job and that he should continue doing what he is currently doing.

PETPOSITIVE SAYS: Well, dear Senator, as they say, you better shape up real soon or get ready to ship out!

aNt
PET+BLOGSPOT

Weekend View 4: KARPAL DEEPLY MOVED BY THE DISABLED - The Star

Karpal firm in face of mounting pressure
By MANJIT KAUR

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh stands by his comments on the powers of the Sultan of Perak despite the increasing number of police reports lodged against him.

He also said he would meet with the police at his Penang law office today.
Karpal Singh

At a press conference in his law firm here yesterday, Karpal Singh said he stood firm on his statement that Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah did not have jurisdiction over the transfer of state Religious Department director Datuk Jamry Sury.

Karpal Singh said he had in no way questioned the prerogative of the Sultan of Perak as the head of the religion of Islam in his state.

“I have not seen the contents of the police reports, but if they state anything false they (those who lodged the reports) have to face the consequences,” he said.

“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should have taken legal advice from the Attorney-General before publicly attacking me for questioning the prerogative of the Sultan of Perak as the head of religion when I did not do so.

“I cannot see how my statement over the transfer of Jamry has impinged on the Sultan’s prerogative as head of religion in Perak.

“I warn the Prime Minister that I will not hesitate to take legal action against him and his deputy if they persist in making defamatory remarks against me.”
Making their stand: Umno members holding a peaceful protest over state DAP chairman Karpal Singh’s remarks at the Taman Tun Sardon mosque in Glugor on Friday.

On the motion of thanks to the King for his address to the Parliament, Karpal Singh said he had in no way insulted the King when he asked who prepared the King’s speech.

“I wanted to know why, if the speech was prepared by the Government, it did not include the reasons for the poor showing of Barisan, and why there was complete absence of any call for the repeal of the Internal Security Act and other repressive legislation,” he added.

On Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin’s statement that he (Karpal Singh) “as a disabled should act like one, but his mouth is not like a disabled”, Karpal Singh said it further condemned and insulted the disabled.

“Such a statement coming for him not only demeans his status as an MP, but also brings into disrepute the august house of Parliament,” he said, adding that he was deeply moved by the wheelchair-bound citizens who demanded that Bung Mokhtar and Independent MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Pasir Mas) apologise.

Weekend View Special 3: Wars waged from wheelchairs - Malaysiakini

The 32nd US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared and waged war against Germany, Japan and their allies from his wheelchair.

With this reminder, DAP chairperson Karpal Singh said the remark by a Barisan Nasional MP that the former should ‘act’ as a disabled by keeping his mouth shut is a condemnation and insult to all disabled persons.

karpal singh pc on perak sultan 090508 02Karpal quoted Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) as having said: “As a disabled, he should act like one, but his mouth is not like a disabled.”

Speaking at a press conference in his office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Karpal said Roosevelt not only directed the Second World War from his wheelchair, “but also spoke his mind on the necessity of American intervention in the Second World War after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, ultimately defeating the Germans, the Japanese and their allies.”

Equal rights

As such, Bung Mokhtar’s statements not only “demeans his own status as an MP, but also brings disrepute to the august Parliament.”

“The disabled are entitled to equal rights with those who are not. They have a right to speak. Disability should not be taken as a sign of inferiority or weakness,” said Karpal.

He also described as “valiant” the effort by the group of disabled activists in Parliament yesterday to demand Bung Mohtar and Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas) to apologise for their statements referring him as a disabled.

“I am deeply moved ... I thank them for their valiant effort in the defence of the disabled,” said Karpal.

Petpositive in Starmag September 17, 2006 on Karpal Singh's Disability

Focus
Sunday September 17, 2006


Lead the way, Karpal!

THANK you for your most intriguing story on DAP Chairman Karpal Singh (I will walk again, People, StarMag, Sept 10) and how his life has changed since he became wheelchair-bound after an auto accident last year.

I’ve had the privilege of briefly meeting and shaking hands with him at quite a few of the ceramah held by the veteran opposition stalwart but never imagined that one day, he, too, would be confined to a wheelchair like me.

I admire and applaud the veteran opposition MP’s courage and resolve in pushing ahead for a complete recovery so that he can be back on his own two feet again.

However, at the same time, I would like to bring Karpal’s attention to the hundreds of other Malaysians with spinal injuries like him as well as those with other disabilities who will never be able to walk again. Despite their respective disabilities, they still want to participate and strive for dreams like everyone else.

They want to go to school in their wheelchairs, find jobs, get married, start a family and grow old gracefully, too.

What blocks them from fulfilling their dreams, however, is not their personal disabilities but, rather, the lack of consideration given to their needs and rights by the policymakers and lawmakers in our country. Even Parliament House remains inaccessible to Malaysians with disabilities after almost half a century of Merdeka!

It is such neglect that continues to keep the disabled in Malaysia “imprisoned” at home, out of the public eye and “a burden to society”.

Mr Singh, although some may look down at you now that you are in a wheelchair – and some callous MPs may even ridicule you during your weakest physical hour – the disabled community will never do so. With our wheelchairs, we “stand” by you.

Instead of making disparaging remarks about your physical condition, people should realise that our planet is moving around so fast that, today it might be you and tomorrow, them.

Disability is much closer to all of us than many of us care to think. It can strike at any time. It respects no one.

Disability is also more likely with older age. With our elderly population increasing from 6%, the question remains if we’ll be ready for the influx of older and disabled citizens in the near future?

The disability journey that you are now taking, no matter how long or short, has left you in a privileged position to be able to speak out for us in the most important House in our nation and to champion our cause, if you’ve never done so before.

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you all the very best in your life and in your special mission!

Anthony Thanasayan,President, Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive)

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