Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s call that disabled persons be given employment opportunities is most welcomed. God knows how difficult it is for disabled persons to get jobs with remunerations that commensurate with our qualifications. Those who are able to obtain jobs have to face another set of challenges in the form of physical and attitudinal barriers. The context of this entry emphasizes on wheelchair users and people with mobility impairment more as I am one of them and very familiar with problems that they face.

Getting disabled persons employed is the ultimate goal here. How we reach that goal is equally important. The government must look at the process of getting disabled persons academically qualified before we can be employed. Schools must be accessible. To get disabled persons to schools, public transport must be accessible. The built environment must be accessible to ease the movement of disabled persons going to school and to work. Each step in the process leading to disabled persons being gainfully employed is inseparable. Therefore the approach has to be holistic rather than piecemeal. One cannot exist without the other.

Private corporations are doing their part by employing disabled persons. I am aware that some multinationals made it a point to include accessible facilities in the form of ramps and larger toilets in their premises. They are the exception, not the norm. The government too must play their part by ensuring that the infrastructure is ready to support disabled persons seeking skills to make themselves employable. This can be achieved through legislation and enforcement, and incentives.

The government has allocated a quota of 1% for employing disabled persons in the public sector through Civil Service Circular No. 10 for Year 1998 (Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bil. 10 Tahun 1998). However, disabled persons working in the public sector amounted to only 0.2% according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun quoted in Bernama on February 2, 2007.

In the same report, she also stated that up to April last year, of the 160,000 disabled persons registered with the Department of Social Welfare, only 1% were hired by the private and public sector. 1,600 have found employment in the private sector and 325 in the public sector. The reason given was that there is a lack of information on the facilities needed by disabled persons who seek employment. If this is so, the government should lead by example by first ensuring that facilities in all government buildings are fully accessible and employ more disabled persons in the public sector. The call for a caring society must first begin from the government - kepimpinan melalui teladan.

N E W S

Nation
Thursday November 15, 2007

Employ the disabled, says PM

By LOONG MENG YEE

PM urges for a more caring society

KUALA LUMPUR: She is a capable woman and presentable enough to be a newscaster – but she could not get long-term employment because she is wheelchair-bound.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, stressing that he wants Malaysia to have a culture of caring where those who need help know they will receive help, said it reminded him of the woman.

“She looks good and capable. I told her she could be in front of the camera or become a compere.

“But she told me, she had yet to find a job,” Abdullah said, not naming the woman.

Best of the lot: Abdullah presenting the overall award to DiGi chief executive officer Morten Lundal at the Prime Minister’s CSR Awards presentation in Kuala Lumpur yesterday while Shahrizat looks on.
“No one wanted to employ her because she sat in a wheelchair,” he told corporate bigwigs at the Prime Minister’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards presentation here yesterday.

Representatives from Petronas, Maybank, BP Malaysia, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and Procter and Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd were among those who attended the event.

“Companies must give attention and be ready to employ disabled people who are able to perform the tasks given and do something for the company,” he said.

Abdullah said jobs should be offered to suitable candidates even if they were handicapped, adding that this is what folks in a caring society would do.

The Prime Minister said a progressive Malaysia meant that the people would enjoy quality of life.

More important, he added, the disadvantaged – such as the sickly, the poor and the handicapped – are assured they also have a place in this country and would be well cared for.

He said the nation and its people had demonstrated its caring nature in many ways and it was a contribution he hoped would continue to flourish.

The awards are given in recognition of companies that carry out strong community and social responsibility projects.

There were 316 entries from 161 companies for the award. They competed in seven categories, including education, environment and workplace practices.

DiGi Telecommunications was named the overall winner.

It also grabbed first places in two other categories – best workplace practice and protecting culture and heritage.

Present at the event were Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi.

View of The Magellan Sutera from Boleh Cafe.

The Pacific Sutera’s Boleh Café serves a scrumptious spread of buffet breakfast. There were Asian, Continental and Western fare to tickle every taste bud there is. Our hunger was thoroughly satiated by the time we were through. I cannot recall the last time I had such a heavy breakfast as my first meal of the day is usually lunch.

Beautifully landscaped garden at The Pacific Sutera.

The landscape of the hotel was unique especially with its Oriental-themed lily pond overlooking the sea. It was drizzling but that did not deter us from traipsing all over the grounds and generally enjoying the sights, photo opportunities and the salty smell of the clammy sea breeze.

Swimming pool of The Pacific Sutera looking out to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.
In the distance are Sulug, Mamutik and Manukan islands.

We did not have anything planned for our trip to Kota Kinabalu except the bloggers meet that Dee had organised later in the evening. Over dinner the previous evening, Nico suggested that we visit the zoo after breakfast. That was one of the more accessible places in Kota Kinabalu. I have never been to a zoo before and was eager to see with my own eyes the legendary proboscis monkeys of Sabah. I first read about the proboscis monkeys from The Adventures of Tintin when I was in primary school. I actually wondered if that weird creature with its prominent nose really existed back then.

Asian Elephant at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.

Nico drove while I took the passenger seat. Wuan, Rosalynn, Justin and Sabrina crammed into the backseat. A short distance from the resort was a colony of stilt houses similar to those around the clan jetties in Penang. The road to the zoo huddled reclaimed coastline in some stretches on one side and gave us a view of the relatively unspoilt beauty of Kota Kinabalu on the other.

Malayan Sun Bear.

The zoo is known as the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. The aviaries housed talkative mynahs, owls, noisy parrots, showy peafowls, hornbills and emus. There were also an endangered clouded leopard that that looked miserable in an enclosure, elephants swaying like Stevie Wonder, tigers with huge paws, sun bears lazing in the afternoon heat, playful orang utans and bashful proboscis monkeys.

Malayan Tiger.

It was a fascinating experience. That was my first time visiting a wildlife park like this save for the mini zoo that the Penang Botanical Gardens once ran thirty years ago. I told myself that I was going to make Wuan take me to Zoo Negara when we got back to Kuala Lumpur. Just as we were about to leave, the wind picked up and a deluge followed. We thanked our lucky stars for making it just in the nick of time.

Orang utan.

Monkeying around outside the proboscis monkey enclosure.

Proboscis monkeys. The largest one is the patriarch of the troop.

The mouse almost always win. Watch Tom and Jerry. Mindless the cartoon may be, it was a welcome diversion on boring days. Likewise, the wave of yellow that thronged central Kuala Lumpur today played a game of cat and mouse with the men in blue. And guess who won? My salute to the tens of thousands of brave people in yellow who braved the rain and threats of being arrested and marched peacefully to the Istana to hand over the memorandum for a clean and free election to the Agong. Syabas to BERSIH for bringing the aspirations of the rakyat to the attention of the Agong.

Sunset over Kota Kinabalu.

Running away to a destination that I have never been to before can be as nerve-racking as it can be exciting. The main concern is accessibility. Throwing caution to the wind, Wuan and I decided to go to Kota Kinabalu not knowing if it was convenient for a wheelchair user like me. Surely there are people in a condition similar to mine there. Moreover, Wuan’s sister Rosalynn and her family, and our good friend Dee are staying there.

The Pacific Sutera, Kota Kibanalu, Sabah.

The moment we made landfall over Sabah, I already liked the place. There were wide expanses of green stretching as far as our eyes could see. The land was relatively undeveloped as compared to Penang or Kuala Lumpur. There were no tall buildings. It was indeed a pleasant change of landscape. I figured that this city the other side of the South China Sea would be more laid back without all the hustle and bustle.

Our room.
Photo by Wuan.

Rosalynn picked us up from the airport and drove us to The Pacific Sutera. Nico was waiting for us at the hotel when we arrived. Our stay there was a wedding gift from both of them. Thank you to you two. The twin bedded room was cosy. After freshening up, Rosalynn took us on a tour of the hotel grounds. The sun was setting then. It was an overwhelming sight especially when we were so near to the sea watching the ochre sky together with the sound of waves lapping rhythmically at the shore. We planned to catch the sunset again tomorrow. Nico and Rosalynn later treated us to dinner at the Silk Garden – a Chinese restaurant at the hotel serving Sichuan fare.