|
|
There was an air of nervous excitement as the plane touched down. Penang seemed foreign. I asked myself what else is left for me here. The good times have become memories. Each time I come back home, an empty and dusty apartment awaits me. I wished for that familiar voice to greet me with that familiar face and that familiar smile. There was only silence.
The Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) never responded to my complaint. Is this indifference common among the local councils in Malaysia? The silence is more than disappointing. It is a blatant display of the “tidak apa” attitude that is making me lose confidence in the people who are entrusted to look after the interests of rate payers and the safety of the public.
Just when I thought that the MPAJ would sweep the matter under the carpet and conveniently forget about it, I received a copy of the letter the Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan (JKT) sent to the MPAJ regarding my complaint. The JKT had instructed the MPAJ to look into my grievances, take relevant actions and provide a response to me.
I am waiting with bated breath for that elusive response from MPAJ. Will they be moved into action or ignore the directive from the JKT? Time will tell. In the meantime, Wuan and I are still risking life and limb whenever we need to make a trip to the shops. Does the MPAJ care enough? Lets wait and see.
* A scanned copy of the letter will be put up as soon as I get back to Penang.
Related entries:
Inaccessible Pandan Perdana
How To Kill A Disabled Person (This entry was first published in MoNSTerBlog)
Calum, my fellow parishioner at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Penang, shared with me this simple but moving story through email. If only all of us practice such wisdom in our daily lives, the world would be a much better place.
Sand and Stone
A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand:
Today my best friend slapped me in the face.
They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
Today my best friend saved my life.
The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?”
The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”
Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone.
Author unknown
One of my bloggers meet kakis gave me a link to a frivolous quiz. The title blared, “How Malaysian are you?” Now, I am not one to waste time answering rigged questions. I would rather fritter away my time reading Sashi talking about the almost-forgotten illusionist David Copperfield.
Nevertheless, work has been stressful lately. That quiz was a welcome break although more than 50% of the questions do not provide the answers that I had in mind. I consider myself a true blue Malaysian. Die die also Malaysia is still where my heart is. My score is lower than the median. Bah! It was rigged anyway.
The Sin Chew Daily, through its Wishing Tree Programme, is organising two half-day seminars on Independent Living for People with Disabilities. The seminars will be held in Penang and Kuala Lumpur respectively. The four topics that will be covered are:
The main target audience are disabled persons, especially those who are severely disabled, and family members who are acting as carers for disabled persons. The practice of Independent Living empowers disabled persons to take charge of their own lives. At the same time, it would lift the burden off the carer and family.
The Independent Living Movement has long taken root in the USA. The first Centre for Independent Living (CIL) was established in Berkeley in 1972. In the Asia-Pacific region, the first CIL, named the Human Care Association, was set up in Tokyo in 1986. From Japan, it has spread to South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, and now to Malaysia.
It is still in its infancy stages here. My goal, which is also the common goal of all my colleagues in the Society for Independent Living in Penang, is to set up a CIL to support severely disabled persons desiring to practice Independent Living. This seminar and the ongoing courses that I have been conducting in Penang will one of several steps that we are taking to promote our vision.
Here, I would like to extend an invitation to everyone who is interested to learn what Independent Living is all about to the seminar in Penang. We would like to work with the community to dispel misconceptions about disabled persons and work towards a goal that is mutually beneficial for all.
Seminar on Independent Living for People with Disabilities
Date: August 19, 2006 (Saturday)
Time: 2.00-5.00 pm
Venue: Sin Chew Media Corporation’s Hall
67, Jalan Macaslister, 10400 Penang (Opposite UMNO Building)
Tel: 04-2226666
Language: English and Hokkien with Mandarin translation
Details of the seminar in Kuala Lumpur on August 27 will be published later in this blog and in the Centre for Independent Living Penang Forum. For further information on the seminars, I can be contacted at 013-340 3728.
You are currently browsing the Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening weblog archives for August, 2006.
