A friend sent me the following comic strip that he did a few weeks back. I have meant to put it up in a website that I am developing to deal specifically with disability issues in Malaysia. Since I know myself too well and that I will procrastinate, this strip will be placed in this blog first.

The story in the comic is a true reflection of the situation here in Malaysia. Although some corporations are genuine in employing disabled persons for their skills and qualifications, many do it merely as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) exercise to show that they care and to gain publicity by getting the press to highlight their magnanimity. Surprisingly, cheap publicity stunts like these are able to garner accolades from the public.

Truth be told, we are still very far away from a masyarakat yang benar-benar penyayang. We are a society that sees disabled people as opportunities to be charitable. There is a reason why 80% of disabled people of working age are jobless. We do not have to look far and deep to find out. I have disabled friends who are still hunting for jobs two years after their graduation. And this comic strips tells you why.

You may also be interested in the following posts:

Renungan Hari Kemerdekaan Ke-50: Kemerdekaan Untuk Siapa?
Welfare Dept hiring enough disabled people: The Star – July 29, 2009
The KL MRT And Disabled People
DET Individual Presentation – Our Rights As Disabled People
Disabled people have special abilities: The Star – June 13, 2009

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 16:16 and is filed under Disability Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.