Master plan to help disabled move about13 Mar 2007
PUTRAJAYA: The disabled will not be left out when each state capital receives its public transport master plan by the end of the year.
Facilities and access for the disabled will form an important part of the brief that will be given to the consultant appointed to study the public transport systems of the state capitals.
The consultant will be given nine months to complete a report, which will be submitted to the Cabinet.
“There will be a master plan for all capital cities nationwide. We want well-planned and co-ordinated transport systems to meet the needs of disabled people,” Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said yesterday.
The Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport (BEAT), a coalition of 16 organisations for the disabled, cheered the announcement.
Their representatives had met with Chan and presented a memorandum with proposals for improvements to public transportation.
Chan also announced the formation of a new committee to address the public transportation needs of disabled people. It will be headed by the deputy secretary-general of Transport (Planning) Long See Wool.
Representatives from various ministries and agencies such as Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board, public transport operators and BEAT will sit on the committee.
The president of the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and the Federal Territory, V. Murugeswaran, said BEAT’s meeting with Chan and the new committee was a long-awaited answer to the pleas of disabled people.