NST Online » Local News
2009/06/14
‘He’s not disabled, he has special ability’KEMAMAN: People with a disability should not be referred to as “disabled” but rather “people with special ability”, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
He said the term “people with special ability” should become a common phrase when referring to persons with a disability so as not to portray a negative perspective.“Many of them are not ‘disabled’ as they have special qualities that sometimes not even a normal person can match.
“For example, a Paralympic athlete has a higher level of commitment, determination and competitiveness compared with a normal person,” he said.
Apart from sportsmen, they (disabled) have also contributed vastly towards the growth of a nation, with many of them becoming doctors, teachers, lecturers, businessmen and craftsmen.
At the same time, there are also normal but “useless” people around, such as drug addicts and criminals, who do not in any way contribute to the nation.Ahmad Shabery said this after opening the Higher Institution National Expedition and Camping programme at Kolej Universiti TATi campus, here yesterday.
He earlier handed out contributions to 140 less fortunate children from six Department of Social Welfare community centres in Chukai, near here. — Bernama
Category: News
Disabled people have special abilities: The Star – June 13, 2009
The Star Online
News
Home > News > NationPublished: Saturday June 13, 2009 MYT 5:39:00 PM
Updated: Saturday June 13, 2009 MYT 5:40:40 PM
Disabled people have special abilitiesKEMAMAN: People with a disability should not be referred to as ‘disabled’ but rather ‘People with Special Ability’ as that would best fit their description, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
He said the term ‘People with Special Ability’ should become a common phrase when referring to such people as it does not portray a negative perspective on the person with a disability.
“Many of them are not ‘disabled’ because they have special qualities that sometimes even a normal person cannot match. “For example, a paralympic athlete has such a high level of commitment, determination and competitiveness compared with a normal person,” he said.
Apart from sportsmen, they (disabled) have also contributed vastly towards the growth of a nation by being doctors, teachers, lecturers, businessmen and craftsmen, he said.
“At the same time, there are also normal human beings who become useless to the community, ‘disabled’ because people like drug addicts, criminals, beggars and jobless do not in any way contribute to the nation,” said Ahmad Shabery after opening the Higher Institution National Expedition and Camping programme at Kolej Universiti TATi Campus, here Saturday.
He had earlier handed out contributions to 140 less fortunate children from six Department of Social Welfare community centres, during a charity programme at Kompleks Penyayang, Kampung Mak Chili in Chukai near here. — Bernama
Menara MPAJ to be more disabled-friendly: The Star – June 1, 2009
The Star Online
Metro
Home > Metro > CentralMonday June 1, 2009
Menara MPAJ to be more disabled-friendly
Story and photo by FAZLEENA AZIZTHE Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) carried out a disability awareness simulation programme at its building in Pandan Indah recently.
The programme was held to give the council an overview of how disabled-friendly Menara MPAJ is.
It came after a discussion at the People with Disability dialogue held on Feb 17.
Uphill task: Mohammad making his way up the ramp in Menara MPAJ.MPAJ president Datuk Mohammad Yacob and the councillors got a first-hand experience as they made their way to different places in the building in wheelchairs.
Mohammad said the MPAJ had plans to build a ramp in accordance with specifications on the needs of disabled people, as well as other facilities.
“This is an old building that was built in 1994 and is not sensitive to the needs of the disabled.
“So this exercise will help us fill in any gaps we may have pertaining to being more disabled-friendly,” he said.
He added that the council would take the necessary action on the matter.
The specifications are from the Guidelines on Building Requirements for Disabled Persons issued by the Local Government and Housing Ministry.
Mohammad said that new commercial buildings had implemented the specifications.
“Our advice is that other building owners should make their premises more disabled-friendly.
“If we want to make this mandatory, then we will have to make a new policy,” he said.
The MPAJ has prepared a separate checklist on the needs of people with disability that plans for housing and commercial developments must comply with before approvals are given.
This is one of the ways to ensure that the disabled community will enjoy the same facilities as others.
The MPAJ has also placed two wheelchairs on level 4 of the building for the use of people who need them.
