The advocacy for accessibility in the built environment has been ongoing for at least twenty years in Malaysia assuming we began from the time the Malaysian Standards MS 1184: Code of Practice for Access for Disabled Persons to Public Buildings and MS 1331: Code of Practice for Access of Disabled Persons Outside Buildings were first drafted.

By-law 34A of the Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL 34A) gazetted separately by the various state governments in the 1990s has done little to change the scenario. UBBL 34A requires that all new buildings provide access for disabled people. Buildings that do not have such facilities when the by-law came into force must provide them within three years.

No doubt new buildings such as shopping complexes have a certain degree of accessibility, these are far and few in between. These buildings by themselves are islands in an ocean of barriers. It is difficult for disabled people to get to these places as there is lack of connectivity in the form of accessible pedestrain facilities and public transport.

One of the excuses given often for lack of accessible facilities is budget. The federal government does not have the budget. The state governments do not have the budget. Municipal governments do not have the budget. To exacerbate the situation, municipal governments who are responsible for the approval of building plans do not have the expertise to ensure that MS 1184 is strictly adhered to.

It is all about money. As long as providing accessible public facilities do not generate revenue, there is little reason for the government to spend money on it. From the way I see it, if the disabled people’s movement in Malaysia continue to advocate the way we are used to, come next fifty years, we will still be complaining about the same issue.

Disabled people need to come out with a fresh angle to advocate. We have evolved from advocating solely for disabled people to embrace a wider circle of people who may find such facilities convenient. These include senior citizens, pregnant women, adults with prams and children. This is a good strategy but obviously is not sufficient to move the powers that be.

Advocates for accessibility should seriously consider promoting the idea of inclusive tourism in Malaysia. Tourism is a major industry in this country. According to Tourism Malaysia, 22 million tourist came to Malaysia in 2008 generating a total receipt of RM49,561.2 million.

Inclusive tourism applies the principles of Universal Design to allow the participation of the broadest range of tourists, principally disabled people. However, other categories of tourists like senior citizens may find this form of tourism convenient due to the accessible facilities.

Accessible tourism will definitely benefit the economy by tapping into groups of tourists who do not usually consider Malaysia as a destination previously due to the barriers that we have here. The facilities in turn will benefit disabled people locally. At the same time, it will also spur dosmetic tourism for disabled people as there are presently limited options in travelling to other countries due to the same issues.

I truly feel that this is a strategy worth looking into. We have not gained much all the years that we have advocated for accessibility. If this does not work, we have nothing much to lose anyway. In fact, the tourism industry in Malaysia as a whole has much to lose as more and more countries around the world move towards making their tourist destinations accessible should the powers that be continue to ignore this matter.

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I was thinking, from my simplistic point of view, since the government is compelled to put in a second stimulus package in view of the worsening global economy, if the Minister of Finance were to allocate 1% of the RM10bil mini budget for upgrading public amenities into accessible ones, it would greatly ease the mobility problems faced by disabled people in Malaysia. Mobility is the crux of the problem that is preventing disabled people from leading independent, productive and fulfilling lives.

Two factors determine whether a disabled person is stuck at home or go out and live a full productive life – built environment and public transport. For now, both are the stumbling blocks in the scheme of things. Because of these two unattainable factors, disabled people are unable to access the essential services crucial to their wellbeing.

Without unimpeded access to the built environment and public transport, disabled people are unable to go to school to get an education, go to work to become gainfully employed and participate in the activities of society. This marginalization has reduced disabled people to depend on welfare from the government and charity from society to survive.

What needs to be done is to put in ramps where needed, renovate footpaths to conform to the prescribed dimensions, install elevators and stair lifts at all Ampang Line stations and equally important, make all buses accessible. Just imagine the improvement to the built environment and public transport this RM100mil can do. And then imagine how these improvements can translated into empowering disabled people who will be able to move around conveniently and become more productive.

An accessible built environment and public transport will open up a whole new world to disabled people. There will be more opportunities for education and employment. There will be more opportunities for interaction between disabled people and non-disabled people. That will be a good opportunity to dispel the many prejudices against disabled people. Most of all, it will make Malaysia more inclusive.

The money from the mini budget have to be spent one way or another. This is going to be a win-win situation for the government in its effort to stimulate the economy, for the contractors who need projects to keep their companies afloat in this uncertain time and most of all, disabled people will be greatly liberated in mobility and presented with more options to life.

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Monday February 16, 2009
Buses for the disabled

ALL the 200 new buses to be added to the Rapid Penang fleet would be disabled-friendly, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said.

He said the buses would be delivered by June, bringing the total number of buses owned by the company to 350.

He said the new buses would be fitted with a ramp each to enable wheelchair-bound passengers to board them.

Nor Mohamed added that Rapid Penang had also installed the Global Positioning System (GPS) on all its buses to monitor their movements.

Passengers trying out the Rapid Penang bus service in Pekan Darat.

“The GPS is rented from a service provider.

“It will improve route frequency and enable the company to provide better service to commuters,” he told reporters in Butterworth yesterday after launching Rapid Penang’s new Butterworth – Pekan Darat route in Tasek Gelugor.

Nor Mohamed said the company hoped to break even in three years despite the losses it suffered since beginning operations in July 2007.

It is learnt that the company has recorded losses of about RM7mil.

Nor Mohamed said the company projected to serve 40,000 passengers daily when the new buses were put on the road.

“The current fleet of 150 is serving about 25,000 passengers daily,” he added.

He said more routes would be introduced, especially in rural areas on the Penang mainland, when the new buses begin ope-rations.

Rapid Penang is a subsidiary of RapidKL which is 100% owned by the Ministry of Finance Inc.

Nor Mohamed said the company was set up to improve public transportation in Penang and was not purely profit-driven.

“The responsibility of serving the people was on our minds when we introduced Rapid Penang,” he added.

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