Thoughts About Mini Budget 2009

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.

Buses for the disabled: The Star, Metro North – February 16, 2009

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.

VirtualMalaysia.Com On Inclusive Tourism

There is an article on inclusive tourism in the Malaysian context in VirtualMalaysia.Com, the “Official e-Tourism Portal for the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia. The Editor for the portal Ariel Chew requested for an interview three weeks ago which I readily agreed as this is a seldom-talked about subject in this country still. Head over to the article titled A tale of Two Disabled Travellers to read what I have to say about the state of inclusive tourism in Malaysia.