Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail – Manganji Station

The announcement that the Cabinet has agreed to build a second bridge linking Penang to the mainland and a monorail system for the island is cause for celebration. I am most interested in the monorail. It is a good alternative to other modes of public transportation, namely the public bus that is in shambles, and the cut-throat taxi service that many cannot afford.

Since the monorail project is still in its preliminary planning stages, I would love to know if there are provisions to include accessible features like ramps, elevators and toilets. There should not even be a need for disabled persons to put in a request for such facilities. The concessionaires together with the relevant government ministries should and must make this monorail line as convenient as possible to everyone who will be using it.

It should not reach a stage where disabled persons need to resort to staging protests and demonstrations for accessible facilities like what happened to the Star-LRT in 1994. When it was built, the line did not incorporate those facilities. To add insult to injury, the management came out with a less than satisfactory statement.

“It all started off with Star-LRT executive director making a public announcement that they are not going to take disabled passengers,” Christine Lee recounted to me. She is the coordinator of a coalition of NGOs that organised a protest after the release of that statement. “The reasons cited was that disabled persons pose dangers to others during emergencies.”

Talk about frogs in a coconut shell. Regrettably, disabled persons still cannot ride on the Star-LRT line. It is now renamed the Ampang & Sri Petaling Line. Likewise, the government did not compel the developer of the KL Monorail to incorporate accessible facilities into the stations. Putra-LRT, now known as the Kelana Jaya Line, is the only city rail transit that has ramps and elevators at its stations.

These exclusions are most tragic. Disabled persons, the elderly and pregnant women who cannot go up the numerous flights of steps have no choice but are forced to use others modes of transport. The government should take heed the serious omissions by Star-LRT and KL Monorail. As a comparison, the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail that I had to take every evening when I was in Tokyo was as accessible as it could be. Even if I had to travel alone, I could have managed without a problem around the stations. The only hitch was the difference in height between the platforms and the trains. Nevetheless, the driver was more than willing to assist when needed.

We should also learn from our two immediate neighbours with regards to accessible facilities of rail systems. The Singapore MRT and the Bangkok Skytrain had to add elevators after the completion of the respective lines. It would have been more cost efficient had it been built into the original structure. Still, not all the stations are accessible. To their credit, they are adding elevators in stages to solve the issue. Are Star-LRT and KL Monorail planning to make their stations accessible anytime soon? Your guess is a good as mine.

Therefore, it is imperative that the Penang Monorail is barrier-free from Day One. It is not only the stations and trains that must bear such friendly designs. Walkways, kerb ramps and pedestrian crossings must be built in the areas surrounding the stations. Non-step low-floor feeder buses should be acquired and put into service to make it a system that is totally barrier-free.

It would be great if accessible designs are integrated at the conceptual stages without promptings. However, knowing how things work in Malaysia, pressure will be needed to ensure that whatever that is needed is in place and properly constructed. The government, the concessionaire and NGOs should work together in a win-win situation for everyone involved. After all, this project is for the benefit of all. As stakeholders and Penangites, we should have a say in it, too.

In concluding his thesis titled “Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom: Digital Speech in Malaysia”, Tang Hang Wu noted, “Whether this community will be allowed to continue to exist in its current form is an open question.” Tang is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. The following is the abstract of his thesis:

The thesis of this paper is that in some societies blogs are beginning to act as a force for democratization and perform the role of being an alternative form of media. Blogging amplifies the cultural and participatory elements of free speech by enabling more people to take part in the spread of ideas and the dissemination of information. By publishing online, bloggers not only rout around prohibitive financial hurdles to media production but also overcome some laws that restrict freedom of expression. This essay focuses on a Malaysian case study of bloggers who are now a formidable force in disseminating information and promoting a democratic culture in the country despite laws that restrict free speech in the country. This essay also reflects on the salient lessons gleaned from the Malaysian experience which might be relevant to the project of constructing a successful blogging scene in the Middle East and other authoritarian or soft-authoritarian regimes.

We need to wonder no more. The day of reckoning for Malaysian bloggers is finally here. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned that those using blogs and the Internet to spread rumours and slander would be detained for undermining the nation’s economic policies. The Star quoted him saying, “We cannot allow such matters to flow through uncontrolled.”

But this is nothing new. Many of us will remember that Jeff Ooi, the pioneer of Malaysian socio-political blogs, was hauled up by the police in February 2005 for a controversial comment left in his blog. In January 2003, online news portal Malaysiakini had its servers carted away by the police for refusing to reveal the author of a letter critical of special rights accorded to Bumiputras. Going further back to September 1998, four persons were arrested and charged in court for spreading rumours of a riot in Chow Kit via emails and newsgroups.

As Jeff succinctly put it: “What is illegal offline is also illegal online.”

To all intents and purposes, the Internet is not a frontier of lawlessness and should not be treated as such. We are still bound by the laws of the state. As evident from past incidents, the police have no qualms in coming down hard on those who were deemed to have stepped over the line.

All said, it is still surprising that the Prime Minister has come out with this statement now. It does not bode well for the Malaysian blogosphere, especially for socio-political bloggers who have been furnishing alternative news and those not carried by mainstream media.

Will little birds brave the threats and continue to supply insider news? Will bloggers dare to write as boldly as before? The wheel has been set in motion. The noose is slowly but surely being tightened. The flowers are no longer blooming. Whither digital speech in Malaysia?

Fishing Without Lines And Rods

Last week, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stated that the current approach to helping the needy was towards capacity-building by providing quality training to ensure their future – PM: Encourage spirit of caring among the young. He was quoted as saying, “With training, the disabled will be able to obtain jobs, be independent and at par with their able-bodied counterparts.”

Many disabled persons do not possess the necessary academic qualifications because schools do not have the proper facilities to cater to their needs for them to complete formal education. The other major problem is transportation. There are no convenient ways for students with severe disabilities to commute between their homes and schools. In the end, many have to drop out.

If the federal government and local authorities continue to turn a blind eye to accessibility issues that have been plaguing these students and the disabled community, what makes this new approach any different? When one particular municipal council cannot even get its act right, who can blame me for being pessimistic?

Those problems will still be there even if disabled persons have been trained and are able to obtain jobs. How are they to get to work when they cannot use public buses and trains? Do their workplaces have ramps and suitable toilets? And if not, are potential employers willing to spend money to renovate?

The Prime Minister must realise that being financially independent will not solve all the challenges that disabled persons are facing everyday. The government must see it from a holistic point of view. Issues like education, accessibility and rights must be dealt with as a complete package rather than individually. They are all interlinked. It makes better sense and optimises resources when resolved as a whole.

Given proper support, many disabled persons can realise their potential and play an active part in nation-building. We would prefer to be fishermen than be given fishes. Unfortunately for now, we are provided with the hooks and sinkers but not the rods and lines. Until a time when the rods and lines are made available to us as well, we can never really feel we that are at par with our “able-bodied counterparts”.