A disabled-friendly Malaysia?
19 Feb 10 : 8.00AM

By Ding Jo-Ann
dingjoann@thenutgraph.com

MALAYSIA passed the Persons with Disabilities Act (PWDA) in 2008 as part of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention). According to the PWDA, those persons with disabilities shall have equal access to the following in Malaysia:

public facilities, amenities, services and buildings;
public transport;
education;
employment;
information, communication and technology;
cultural life;
recreation, leisure and sport.

Malaysia also amended the Uniform Building Bylaws in 1990, making it compulsory for buildings to provide access and facilities for disabled persons. Existing buildings were given three years to make modifications to comply with the bylaw.

In addition, then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in September 2006 that all buildings and public amenities, including existing buildings, must be disabled friendly.

But two years after the Act and nearly two decades after the bylaw amendment, have there been substantial steps taken in providing equal access for persons with disabilities? If not, why not?

No change

Peter Tan, a disability rights advocate living with spinal cord injury, says that as far as accessing public places is concerned, not much has changed since the PWDA or bylaw amendment were passed.

He says accessible facilities have only been provided on a piecemeal basis so far. “For example, if a wheelchair user wants to go to Suria KLCC from Cheras, there are too many barriers in the built environment and public transport system that makes the journey impossible.

“We need to have accessibility from a holistic point of view. What is the point of having a building that is fully accessible when the wheelchair user cannot even get out from his [or her] house safely and conveniently?” says Tan.

He adds there is currently no code of practice for disabled access to public transport. “RapidKL claimed they have 100 buses with ramps. However, the buses don’t allow wheelchair users to board. Even if they did, the bus stops are not suitable.

“If I don’t drive, I won’t be able to move around the city conveniently. I have taken the Kelana Jaya LRT line, which is wheelchair accessible, but there is no connectivity from our homes to the stations,” says Tan.

RapidKL buses, which Tan says aren’t as disabled friendly as they are claimed to be
(Pic by mailer_diablo / Wiki commons)

Helen Chin, a lawyer and advocate for the learning disabled, cannot think of any examples of significant improvements brought about by the PWDA.

“There are some radio announcements on launching programmes to sensitise people on the rights of disabled persons. This is encouraging, but no details have been given,” she says in a phone interview.

“We’re in 2010 now; the Act was passed in 2008. [The government] has to move faster… there are so many who are disabled.”

Chin says that at an October 2009 Bar Council public forum, an Education Ministry spokesperson announced plans to remove the words “non-educable” from the Education Act (Special Education) Regulations 1997 by early 2010. This was to align the regulations with the PWDA, which ensures equal education opportunities for all.

To date, however, Chin says nothing has been gazetted.

Change possible

Anthony (Courtesy of T Anthony) Petaling Jaya (PJ) City Council councillor and The Star Wheel Power columnist Anthony Thanasayan says the council has been working hard to make PJ disabled friendly.

He says having a technical committee on disabilities is a must to ensure access for disabled persons.

Anthony, who is a wheelchair user, says having a disabled person in the committee is also crucial to ensure plans are usable.

“All new buildings [in PJ] now need the committee’s approval. Through this process, we’ve spotted many plans that needed improvement. Often, [developers] genuinely have no clue [about how to construct a disabled-friendly building].”

Anthony says the PWDA is “useless” without a disabilities committee in every council. “Change must be top-down, not down-up,” he says. “It has to start with the pavements outside your house, not at some beautiful five-star hotel or shopping complex.

“If Najib means what he says [about ensuring all public buildings and amenities are disabled friendly], he should set up disability committees in all councils,” says Anthony.

Anthony predicts that a satisfactory level for disabled access can be gradually achieved in three years, provided the council stays committed. The council also plans to build 150 disabled-friendly car parks with shelters, and now issues official disabled passes for free. It also built a 500m universal-design pavement along Jalan Gasing that is disabled friendly.

Tan (Courtesy of Peter Tan) Tan adds that accessible facilities do not just benefit disabled persons, but can also be used by senior citizens, pregnant women, and adults with prams.

Making change happen

On a national level, Chin says the government needs to set up a board of inquiry with session court powers if it seriously intends to address issues faced by disabled persons.

“At the moment, there is no machinery for channelling complaints and to draw the government’s attention to grouses,” says Chin. “You can write a letter just like to any government department, but there’s no accountability to this process. So how effective can it be?”

The PWDA establishes a National Council for Persons with Disabilities chaired by the minister in charge of social welfare, which meets at least thrice yearly to implement the PWDA.

However, Chin says the PWDA doesn’t provide for any sanctions if the government fails in its obligation to provide equal opportunities of access as outlined in the PWDA. Further, there are conflicting provisions in the PWDA on whether an individual can sue the government for not meeting its obligations.

“Without penalties [for contravening the PWDA] and a board of inquiry, [the Act] is more like a policy statement. There should be separate regulations made to ensure that implementation is down-to-earth and practical,” says Chin.

Chin notes that sanctions already exist for buildings that do not comply with the Uniform Building Bylaws, which provide for disabled access. However, enforcement has been weak. “Even when there are legislative provisions providing for sanction, its success depends on enforcement,” she says.

(Pic by Thoursie / sxc.hu)Although Malaysia signed the UN Convention, we did not ratify it or sign the Optional Protocol. The protocol allows those adversely affected by a country’s non-compliance with the UN Convention to report such violations to the UN committee, which oversees its implementation.

“The authorities often say that things cannot change overnight,” says Tan. “I have been a wheelchair user for 26 years, and have not been able to live independently even after the PWDA or Uniform Building Bylaws amendment.

“Fifteen years since the bylaw amendment, politicians are still using this excuse.”

Early this morning, I received a call from Encik Zahari from the Jabatan Kejuruteraan of Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ). I had sent an email to the MPAJ on Monday to protest the lack of kerb ramps in the stretch of pavement currently being upgraded. A bus stop is located on the pavement. It is important that this particular stretch is made accessible to ensure that wheelchair users are able to get to the bus stop and catch a bus when RapidKL deploy their non-step buses to this route.

Encik Zahari gave the assurance that ramps will be built on both ends of the pavements that are being upgraded. The kerbs that have been put in place will be removed to accomodate the ramps. There would not have been a need to remove the kerbs had it been done correctly in the first place. I told him that the gradients of the ramps should have a ratio of 1:15 or less. They should gentle enough for wheelchair users to traverse up independently. I have seen bad ramps all over Kuala Lumpur, especially those done by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL). These ramps are too steep and are not seamless from road to pavement. There is usually a small step from the road to the ramp. That may cause a wheelchair going up to tip backwards.

From this episode, it is apparent that the authorities have not taken the issues of access for disabled people into account. There should not even be a need for me to remind the parties concerned that public facilities should be inclusive, more so when new infrastructure is being built or when the existing ones are being upgraded. Accessible facilities should have been the norm. In Malaysia’s march to becoming a developed nation, we cannot, should not, ignore the fact that disabled people still have to struggle with third world infrastructure. The “developing nation” status will be meaningless when a segment of the population is still marginalised in so many ways.

Upgrading of pavement at Pandan Perdana.

A few stretches of pavements at Jalan Perdana 3/1 in Pandan Perdana are currently being upgraded. I am very particular about these upgrading works because the previous upgrading on a different stretch of the pavement was done haphazardly and could not be used safely although I have stressed to the previous ADUN for Teratai on the need to follow the code of practice. He was the one who got the allocation for upgrading part of the pavement in 2007.

Anyway, imagine to my horror when I found out that there were no kerb ramps to the pavements in the current upgrading works. I asked around and was made to understand that the MP for Pandan Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had provided an allocation for these works. I posted a note in Facebook and tagged him, asking him to ensure that there are kerbs ramps as one of the pavements has a bus stop. If we cannot get to the bus stop, we definitely cannot board the buses when RapidKL deploy their non-step buses on this route.

The bus stop in the midst of pavement upgrading works at Pandan Perdana.

Through Facebook, I was given the phone number of Ong Tee Keat’s Service Centre Public Liaison Officer, Kent Ng, together with the office phone and email. I called the office number on Sunday afternoon. There was no answer. Then I called Kent and explained the issue to him. He said he would get back to me. I followed up with an email briefly detailing on how the kerb ramp should be constructed.

Work on the pavement is currently still on going. I was afraid that the pavement would be completed before any action is taken. I waited until this afternoon and called Kent again. He told me that he would submit my complaint to Datuk Seri Ong. I asked him when and explained the urgency of the matter. What he said to me following that was totally unexpected.

No kerb ramp.

“Mister, you called me on Sunday. Do you know Sunday is rest day?”

It was not what he said that irked me but the tone of him saying it. I said I knew but it is Monday now and I am calling him again to check and ask him when action will be taken. He gave me the same line that he will submit my complaint and that I had called him on a Sunday. YES, I KNEW IT WAS SUNDAY! If the matter was not urgent, I would not have called.

After that incident, and as far as I am concerned, I have done the necessary to enlighten Datuk Seri Ong regarding this matter. I shall wait and see how it pans out. Surely, the MP for Pandan who is also the Minister of Transport already understands the issues of public transport with regards to the street environment. His ministry and related agencies have been engaging disabled persons’ organisations in this matter for a long time already. I pray he will do the right thing.

Hmm, I hear the Chordettes singing…

Another end of pavement with no kerb ramp.

Close up of the dug up pavement with kerb.