Public transport should be accessible and affordable to all. In this era, it is no longer a privilege but a necessity. It reduces the number of vehicles on the road thus reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Unfortunately, wheelchair users are left out from the public transport system in Malaysia due the lack of foresight of the government and the reluctance to implement universal design principles in the infrastructure.

Wheelchair users who need to travel around often have to look for alternative modes of transport. Many of us have to depend on family and friends to ferry us around. This is subject to family and friends being able to take leave from work or when they are free. The few who have the means drive. The severely limited choices in public transport have left many stranded at home.

Mobiliti is the first organization in the country to provide door-to-door lift van service for a nominal sum of RM3 per trip to any destination within the Klang Valley. The daily demand for such service far outstrips what the five lift vans can handle. Earlier in the year, the Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) took the initiative to provide a similar lift van service to wheelchair users living in Petaling Jaya.

It must be stressed that such door-to-door lift van service is not a solution to an accessible public transport system for disabled people. Mass public transport such as buses and light rail transits are still the preferred options due to its wide coverage and availability. On the other hand, lift van service needs to be booked in advance. It is also resource-intensive due to the limited number of trips that it can make in a day and the number of wheelchair users that it can carry. Nevertheless, the availability of such modes of transport is a welcome relief while we wait for the government to draw up an inclusive transport master plan and effectively implement it.

On the same matter, it distressed me greatly to read a very caustic letter published in the ILTC Malaysia blog regarding the abuse of lift van service provided to disabled people by the MBPJ. The mail was sent to the Mayor of Petaling Jaya by ILTC President Francis Siva complaining that wheelchair user Bathmavathi Krishnan is filthy rich, has a maid and owns a car, and for those reasons, she is not entitled to use the service.

Francis’ arguments are without basis. Such form of transport service should be provided to all wheelchair users irrespective of their financial standing or social status. Many of us own cars and drive not because we are rich. We are forced to drive because that is the only form of mobility for us who need to travel often. Now that the MBPJ is providing such service, wheelchair users have another mobility option to choose from. To deny this service to a wheelchair user based on the arguments above is a blatant discrimination.

In advocating for our rights, we should not deny others theirs. This is one of the basic principles disability-rights advocates must adhere to. We should not, at any time, segregate disabled people into classes, be it social, financial, colour or creed. We have been fighting against exclusion for a long time. We know all too well the pain of being marginalized. Therefore it is contradictory to exclude one of our own based on discriminatory criteria.

It was silly of me to still think that only Penang has the best hawker food anywhere in Malaysia. Penang used to have hawker food that tasted really nice. Among my favourites are hokkien mee, kali mee, wantan mee, popiah and char kuey teow. Over the years, especially since I moved down to Kuala Lumpur, I have come to realise that the hawker food in my little island paradise do not taste as good as it used to be anymore during those few trips back.

In my opinion, the major cause of this is the ingredients. In the olden days, the hawkers prepared all the essential ingredients by themselves. They pounded the chilies, made the pastes and soup stock, deep-fried the shallots and even made the noodles used in their trades. This made the taste of their respective food unique only to them.

In contrast, many hawkers nowadays buy ready-made ingredients such as chili paste, noodles and even deep-fried shallots to cut down on preparation time and cost. That special touch in making the taste unique is lost. The ingredients used by one hawker is used by a few others who get their supplies from the same wholesaler. Mass production in the name of economy of scale is slowly killing what Penang has been famous for.

Once in a while, I still pine for the hokkien mee that the uncle sporting a crew cut hawked beside the bus stop opposite the PBA (Pihak Berkuasa Air) in Rifle Range. The spicy prawn and pork bone-based soup was simply delicious. Thinly sliced prawns and pork were generously added into the noodles. That was when I was still in primary school. Those were the days when hawkers went the extra mile to ensure that they put in only the best ingredients. How I miss those times.

I have almost forgotten how beautiful the night scenery is from my apartment in Penang until I came across this photo taken the last time Wuan and I were there. The warm glow of street lamps, the fairy lights of distant houses - there is a lump in my throat. So many memories, so many things I thought I could leave behind but could not. Oh Penang, how I miss thee.

Datuk Ong Tee Keat, Robert Wang and Peter Tan at Pandan Perdana.
Photo by Wuan.

My fellow advocate Robert Wang and I had planned to meet the Member of Parliament for Pandan Datuk Ong Tee Keat who is also the Minister of Transport regarding the problems with using public transport that disabled people all over Malaysia are facing.

As luck would have it, he came to Pandan Perdana to launch the Tasik Perdana Family Day last Sunday. Robert and I “ambushed” him as he was about to leave after a press conference. He stayed back for a while to listen to the two of us telling him about the problems with RapidKL, Rapid Penang, Star LRT and the built environment in general.

We also intimated to him that we have met with the previous Minister of Transport, other government officials and representatives from RapidKL but nothing much was done to resolve the issues. Unfortunately, according to him, RapidKL does not come under his ministry but under the Ministry of Finance. Nevertheless, Datuk Ong requested that we furnish him with more information on our complaints for him to understand the issue better.

There was a time when I would get all upbeat over such news in the mainstream media. Now, whenever I read about the government’s plans to alleviate the problems faced by disabled people, I get all skeptical. I have heard one too many empty promises made by politicians on such matters. I have also seen one too many leaders of disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) who sit in high-powered committees but do nothing to advocate for the rights of disabled people.

Nevertheless, I applaud Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen for realising that Malaysia needs to shift from the charity-based model to a rights-based one where the issues of disabled people are concerned. The charity-based model demeans the dignity of disabled people by reducing them to positions of passive recipients whose fate are dependent on the generosity of the benefactors.

Given a choice, disabled people do not want to be given fishes all the time. We want to learn to fish to be self sufficient. We want to be the master of our destiny. No man should decide how another person should live his life. Disabled people must be allowed to decide for themselves how they want to live their lives.

Disabled people must be given the same opportunities as everyone else to live life as independently as possible. Such independence is impossible at the moment because of all the physical barriers in the environment as well as the prejudices against disabled people.

Although I may have my skepticisms, I really hope am wrong and that with the formation of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities the government and the representatives of disabled people will work towards restoring the rights of disabled people in Malaysia. The members of the council, especially disabled persons, should speak out without fear or favour on all issues affecting the community.

I see some familiar faces of wheelchair users in the council, namely, Sia Siew Chin of Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled, Anthony Arokia of the Persatuan Mobiliti Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur. They must always remember that they are not representing themselves, their organizations or people with disabilities such as theirs only but all disabled people and especially people with very severe disabilities.

They must put the interests of all disabled people in Malaysia above that of their own. They must not abuse their positions for self-benefit and the benefit of their respective organizations only. Most of all, they must understand what rights are as opposed to privileges and advocate accordingly.

Disabled people in Malaysia have been marginalized for so long that many have come to see charity as God-sent. Many disabled people’s organizations are also charity-based because it is easier to appeal to the goodwill of society to provide for their members than to get the government to play their part by supporting the needs of their members.

The government has a duty to ensure that disabled people have equalization in opportunities in all aspects and provide the necessary social support to achieve such means. By that I do not mean the various allowances given out by the government to disabled people. Money is not everything. The built environment and the public transport system must cater to the needs of disabled people so that they will have opportunities participate in activities of society.

Those two are areas that the government has failed to deliver despite numerous promises by different ministers during the past two years. Without an accessible built environment and public transport system, disabled people will continue to be trapped in our own homes. Therefore, my yardstick to judge the effectiveness of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities is whether they can resolve the two long outstanding issues in the immediate future. Five years is a reasonable timeframe to ensure that the government deliver the most basic of those facilities. Can the council uplift disabled people from the pathetic situations that they are in now? Time will tell.

Metro
Home > Metro > Central

Monday August 18, 2008
Rights of disabled people to be taken care of
BY LOONG MENG YEE,

THE Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 has been gazetted and came into force on July 7. This is the first rights-based legislation for people with disabilities (PWD).

“With the enforcement of the Act, PWDs will be able to enjoy better public transport facilities, amenities and services.

“They will also have equal opportunities to health, education, information, communication and technology, habilitation and re-habilitation, improved employment opportunities as well as sports, leisure and cultural life,” said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.

“At this point, it is too early for us to assess the effectiveness of the Act.

“Issues affecting the development and well-being of PWDs are cross- cutting, from rehabilitation to housing and social safety.

“Therefore, the responsibility to ensure the PWDs enjoy the rights enshrined in the Act has to be shared by all.

Fight for our rights: Dr Ng (fourth from right) and the rest of the team in the National Council for the People with Disabilities.

“The ministry and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities established under this Act will have to play a crucial role to address and bring foward issues affecting PWDs,” said Dr Ng at the first council meeting recently.

She added the council would oversee, co-ordinate and evaluate the implementation of the National Policy and National Plan for Action relating to PWDs.

Dr Ng said Malaysia had moved from charity-based to rights-based to address the issues affecting PWDs. The Department of Social Welfare was committed to the cause of ensuring full participation of PWDs into society.

“The department had introduced rights-based programmes such as Disability Equality Training and Independent Living to PWDs.

“Community-based rehabilitation is promoted and further strengthened to provide early intervention, rehabilitation and training for PWDs in their own community.

“So far, the welfare department supports 379 community-based rehabilitation centres, benefiting 12,000 PWDs,” said Dr Ng.

Until May, there were 229,325 PWDs registered with the Welfare Department.

This figure was way too low for the World Health Organisation estimate of between 5% and 10% of the population.

Going by that estimate, Malaysia should be registering 1.3 to 2.6 million PWDs. Dr Ng urged those who had not registered to do so.