The presence of the Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) in the Dewan Negara was recorded in page 50 of the Hansard dated 20 December 2006.

Related entry:
Wheeling Around The Corridors of Power

The Parliament Building. In the foreground is the statue of Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Photo by Wuan.

Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Deputy Finance Minister and Chairman of MCA Wanita invited the Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) for a meeting with her at the Parliament Building yesterday. The delegation headed by Christine Lee and V. Murugeswaran included Sia Siew Chin, Wong Nam Sang, Danny Tan, Fairuz, Bathmavathi Krishnan, M. Manoharan and I.

BEAT members outside the Parliament Building.

The hour-long meeting was a fruitful one as we exchanged ideas with BEAT stating our stand on accessible public transport and Dr. Ng advising us on how we should pursue the matter. At the same time, we were also able to briefly meet Deputy Transport Minister Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar who agreed to meet us again to look into our grievances.

The steep ramp into the lift lobby next to the Main Building of the Parliament.
Photo by Wuan.

After the meeting concluded, Senator Lee Sing Chooi invited us into the Dewan Negara to witness the proceedings. It was an honour and privilege to be in the Senate and amongst the esteemed Senators present. The most recognisable face in the room was acclaimed actor and film director Datuk Jins Samsudin who is a member of the Senate.

The security checkpoint. View from inside the Parliament Building compound.
Photo by Wuan.

When the Senate adjourned for lunch break, YB Chew Mei Fun, Parliamentary Secretary to the Women’s, Family and Community Development Ministry invited us for lunch at the Parliament House cafeteria. It was a pity that we were not allowed to take our cameras into the building. It would have been an even more memorable event if we could record the event in images.

The Deer Park next to the Parliament Building compound.
Photo by Wuan.

It is also ironic the Parliament that passed the Uniform Building By-Law 34A (UBBL 34A) did not see it fit to lead by example by making access into the building suitable for wheelchair users. The ramp into the lift lobby was way too steep and definitely did not follow the Malaysian standards stipulated for such facilities.

Related entry:
The Star - December 21, 2006: Disabled get mobility pledge

Conference on Transportation and Education for Disabled Persons

The BAKTI-MIND Project organised a conference on education and transport at Bangunan Siti Hasmah from December 17 to 20, 2006. The theme of the BAKTI-MIND 2nd Annual Conference is “Empowering Persons with Disabilities (PWD) through Information Provision” which aimed at “Bridging the Critical Gaps in Transportation and Education for PWD in Malaysia.”

The current hot issue is accessible public transportation. This is the line that connects all the dots for disabled persons living in the community. Public transport is crucial to the lives of disabled persons. It allows them to go to school to get an education. It allows them to get to work and be gainful employed. It allows them to lead an active social life. It allows them to fulfil their cultural, political and religious aspirations. In short, being able to move around freely is, among others, the key to a gratifying life for disabled persons.

The three foreign speakers on transport spoke at length about alternative transportation for disabled persons. This mode of transportation is mainly door-to-door or point-to-point service using modified taxis or vans with lifts to ferry specifically wheelchair users, generally people with mobility impairments and other forms of disability. At the same time, Malaysian speakers shared about the state of public and alternative transportation in the country in relation to disabled persons, and also the infrastructure needed to make the entire system effective and practical.

Persatuan Mobiliti Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur is one of the only two groups providing door-to-door transport service for disabled persons in Malaysia currently. At RM3 per trip to anywhere within the Klang Valley, one can see that this service is heavily subsidised. Undeniably, they are doing an impressively good job in providing the transportation needs of disabled persons. Nevertheless their service is limited from nine to five on weekdays only. What happens to those who need transport after-hours and on weekends?

Public transport for the mobility-impaired such as buses and urban rails should be the main mode of transportation because of their vast network and resources. Alternative transport such as accessible taxis and lift vans can play a supplementary role by working on routes not served by public transport and for specific needs that cannot be fulfilled by public buses and trains.

The burden to provide accessible transport to disabled persons should not be left solely on the shoulders of Non-Governmental Organisations and a few private entities. Instead, the government should be proactive in drawing up a sustainable public transportation policy to ensure that no one community is marginalised or inadvertently left out.

Parliament
Thursday December 21, 2006

Disabled get mobility pledge

BY ELIZABETH LOOI

THE Government will come up with a long-term plan to provide disabled-friendly public transportation.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, who held an hour’s meeting with representatives from seven organisations of the disabled community, said she would speak to the Transport Ministry and the main public bus concessionaire Rapid KL.

“I am not saying that there will be visible results next year, but we must have a plan,” she said.

“Disabled people must not be forgotten in the transport master plan that the ministry is drawing up now.”

Dr Ng said she had advised the representatives to write to the relevant ministries, including the Cooperatives and Entrepreneurial Development Ministry, which is in charge of commercial vehicles licensing.

She said from the meeting, she learned that the organisations had not been talking to the right people, especially policy makers.

“I understand their frustration but the Government is trying to help them, too,” she said.

Dr Ng said she was confident the Budget next year would include more provisions for the disabled.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar, who was present at the meeting, said he would forward the proposals and ideas from the representatives to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.

“We will look into their plight and prepare a long-term solution for them,” he said.

Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan president V. Murugeswaran said the meeting, which was initiated by Dr Ng, was a fruitful discussion.

“We will meet among ourselves to discuss our next course of action but we are grateful that our perseverance has finally paid off,” he said.

Tuesday December 19, 2006

Rosmah: Public vehicles still leaving the disabled behind

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite repeatedly appealing to the authorities to include them in transport development, the disabled still have little access to public transport.

“This is indeed sad. I hope the relevant authorities will look into this and give priority to the underprivileged group,” said Bakti acting president Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Quoting a World Health Organisation report, she said disabled people should be able to move along in the mainstream of development with others and fully utilise the facilities available to them.

She said this in her speech at the 2nd Bakti-Mind Conference: Empowering Persons With Disabilities Through Information Provision here yesterday.

UP THE RAMP: Rosmah (third from left) looking at a demonstration by Liew Chee Keong on accessing a disabled-friendly vehicle on Monday.

Meanwhile, a coalition of 16 non-governmental organisations championing the cause of a barrier-free environment said they had sent a memorandum to Rapid KL asking accessible buses for all, including the disabled.

Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport (BEAT) coordinator Christine Lee said: “We tested out the buses when Rapid KL launched its new buses in September but they were not accessible to us.”

She said the memorandum was sent on Nov 6.

BEAT assistant coordinator Peter Tan said they were not asking for just disabled-friendly buses but universally accessible buses which the elderly, children, pregnant women and adults with prams or heavy baggage could travel in with ease.