petertan.com icon
«
»

Penang – Different Government Same Shit For Disabled People

December 2nd, 2008 - Tuesday

Abuse of accessible parking outside the Catholic Information Centre in Penang

When the DAP took over Penang with its allies in the Pakatan Rakyat, I had great hope that things would change for the better for disabled people in my home state where accessibility is concerned. After nine months of governing the state, it is evident that my optimism was misplaced. The picture above taken on November 24, 2008 speaks volume of my despair.

I use very simple yardsticks to determine accessibility of a particular place. First is the inclusion of usable ramps. Second is the functionality of accessible toilets. Third is the provision of accessible parking spaces. These are the basic facilities that will determine whether disabled people can perform independently outside their homes or otherwise.

The two parking spaces for disabled people were put up in 2005 when a stretch of Upper Penang Road was renovated. The many times that I drove pass the Catholic Information Centre in recent months, the two parking spaces were usually occupied by four cars – assumably neither driven by disabled people nor carrying disabled passengers as evident by the close proximity of the cars.

When a simple thing like enforcement on existing facilities is not even carried out, dare I hope that the requirements in the Uniform Building By-Law 34A (UBBL 34A) be imposed on all existing and new public buildings? The government of Penang under Pakatan Rakyat is as disappointing as when the state was under Barisan Nasional when it comes to resolving disability issues. Apa macam Lim Guan Eng?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Posts that may be related:


New in my other blogs:
Lemon Grass updated on 4 Mar 2010
Monkey updated on 2 Mar 2010

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 09:35 and is filed under Accessibility In Public Places. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Penang – Different Government Same Shit For Disabled People”

  1. Foong Says:
    December 2nd, 2008 at 10:33

    I absolutely agree. That’s why I have vocalised over and over about how this new government and the previous one aren’t all that different after all.

    Peter:
    If things continue like this, the votes may just swing back to the other side. O.O