Empowering Through Consumerism

The Independent Living Movement subscribes to the philosophy of consumerism. Practitioners of Independent Living want to be consumers of the services that they require. As consumers, they have the ability to control the standard of service and goods provided. This is a paradigm shift from the traditional mindset of disabled persons being the recipients of charity, welfare and volunteerism.

When it comes to charity, the recipients are mostly in a position of passivity. The assistance provided are often according to the perception of what the benefactors think disabled persons need. The perception may not always be correct. The recipients do not have a say in what is given to them lest they be deemed to look at a gift horse in the mouth.

In Malaysia, we have not reached a stage where all disabled persons can practice consumerism due to economic factors. When they are not gainfully employed, they have to depend on the mercy of their family and carers for all their needs. In such circumstances, they are not in a position to dictate what they require.

It is a vicious cycle. In the end, this group of people are reduced to a state where they have to accept whatever that is dished out to them, whether they like it or not. They lose their dignity and the ability of self-determination. What is the value of life then? They not only are prisoners in their own bodies but trapped in a society that sees them as charity cases and nothing else.

The burden of caring for them should not fall solely on the family. The state must play a major role in ensuring that their rights and dignity are protected. This can be achieved by first making available a range of support services and aids to assist them in their daily living. These all must consumercentric services where they have the final say in how they want it provided.

Nobody likes to be compelled to accept goods and services that do not conform to their standards. Likewise, disabled persons should not be obligated to accept the same. We, as a society, must move away from viewing them as perpetually helpless people needing welfare handouts to providing them with opportunities that can empower them to lead fulfilling lives. Consumerism is the way to achieve that.

Give The Disabled Child An Opportunity To Grow Up

Who can blame a parent for being protective over a disabled child? More often than not, the child is mollycoddled; all his needs are looked after, sometimes to the extent of being overwhelming and suffocating. That is the basic instincts of parents at work.

Nevertheless, parents need to understand that as the child grows up, there is a real need to allow him to take charge of his own life. How long can the parents be there to protect the child? What will happen to the child after the parents are no longer around?

We certainly cannot expect the child to suddenly grow up and fend for himself. There are skills that are required for activities of daily living and skills needed for living independently. These have to be learnt over a period of time. Those skills may be second nature to many but for one who had been protected all his life, it would be as foreign to him as Greek.

Parents who really care for the wellbeing of the disabled child, no matter how old the child is, should gradually wean him off his dependency on them. This is the best legacy that they can leave their child with.

It is only through managing his own needs that the child regains a sense of self-reliance and self-worth. That confidence will in turn empower him to take charge of his own life, be responsible for his own actions and learn to be independent.

As it is, disabled persons are faced with more challenges than they can overcome. Parents should take the initiative to encourage their child to go out and face the world instead of keeping them away from the prying eyes of the public. Sooner or later, they will have to go out and face the world anyway.

We Are Not Patients

The general perception of wheelchair users is that we are people with chronic medical conditions. In short, we are considered patients. That is furthest away from the truth. Wheelchair users are people who employ a different mode of ambulation. Instead of using our legs to walk, we move around on wheelchairs. That is the only stark difference.

There have been cases where wheelchair users accompanying friends to hospitals were misconstrued by the nurses and doctors as people seeking medical attention. Likewise, I have experienced the same dilemma when accompanying my late mother to the hospital for her checkups.

While this is not a major issue, it is discomforting that society at large still sees wheelchair users with such mindsets. At a recent meeting regarding accessible public transport, there were suggestions to request for bus routes to specifically serve institutions for disabled persons and hospitals.

That is another misconception. Not all disabled persons live in institutions. Many live in the community. That is how it should be. At the same time, accessible buses should not only serve routes to hospitals. That should not be a priority but included as one of the routes.

True, many need to go to hospitals for regular checkups but that is not a major activity for disabled persons. It is more important that we are able to commute to work or school conveniently. Additionally, we also like to enjoy leisure activities such as trips to the malls or parks.

There are still a lot of misconceptions regarding disabilities and disabled persons. It is not totally the fault of society. Disabled persons themselves are the best advocate of change in such matters. By living in the community, we can gradually eliminate fallacies, build bridges and create an inclusive society where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

All Eyes on Rapid KL - 100 Accessible Buses In 30 Days

What does it take for the government to realise that certain segments of society are often left out in the process of our country’s development? We have just celebrated the 49th year of independence of Malaysia. Have we not learnt anything from all those years of growing up as a nation?

Whether it is done intentionally or otherwise, the omission to respect the rights of disabled persons is discriminatory. The latest grouse of this community is that public buses are not accessible to wheelchair users. This issue is nothing new. I have blogged about it in a simple comparative study of Public Buses in Tokyo, Perth and Kuala Lumpur.

Late Sunday morning last week, Wuan and I gathered at the Bangsar LRT Station bus stop with more than 30 disabled persons, mostly wheelchair users, in an attempt to board the Rapid KL buses. We demonstrated how impossible it was to get into the vehicles. We called ourselves the Barrier-Free and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT). The NST reported the campaign in Disabled want better access to public transport yesterday.

BEAT Coordinator Christine Lee was concerned that no effort has been put into making public transport accessible in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur. When Katherine Chew, Senior Manager Corporate Communications Division of Rapid KL, was asked why the new buses were not made accessible to wheelchair users, she said, “When Rapid KL took over, we had to get the new buses on the road fast.”

Evidently, Rapid KL was blind to the needs of people who need to use public transport most when they ordered the buses. As a 100% government-owned company under the Ministry of Finance, this reflects badly on the government’s effort in promoting Malaysia as a masyarakat penyayang.

Next to a barrier-free environment, public transport is important in an inclusive society that respects the rights of disabled persons as citizens of equal standing. Without accessible public transport, many are stranded in their homes. They are unable to go out. They lose out on education and work opportunities. These make them even more disadvantaged.

Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, Parliamentary Secretary to Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, who was present at the station concurred that the rights of disabled persons are enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Now that Rapid KL has been caught with their pants down, they announced that 100 new buses to be put into service next month will be equipped with ramps.

I told Katherine that I am sceptical because time and again, we were disappointed by sweet promises from various parties that were never fulfilled. Even when those promises were carried through they were done in such ways that rendered them non-functional. Good examples are ramps and toilets that do not follow good accessible designs.

For the sake of all my disabled friends who need to use public transport, I hope that those new buses are truly accessible and safe. We will not accept anything less. The countdown has begun. Will disabled persons be taken for another ride again? Time will tell. 100 accessible buses, 30 days. We are waiting anxiously.

A Peculiar Trait Of KLites

City dwellers here have one peculiar trait that a Penangite like me found amusing initially. Many families in the city spend their weekends cooped up in sprawling shopping complexes like Mid Valley Megamall and 1 Utama from breakfast till dinner. I had always wondered how one could linger in such enclosed spaces with artificial lighting for one full day.

Inherently, I am still a kampung boy at heart. When I was young, my parents would take me for picnics by the sea or to my grandfather’s plantation in Sungai Pinang on weekends. Therefore it was ingrained in me that weekends should be spent in wide open spaces where one is amongst nature again.

Now that I have lived in Kuala Lumpur for a while, I have embraced this peculiar trait of window shopping on weekends, too. I now understand that it is all about comfort and convenience. Food outlets are aplenty. There are beauty salons, hair dressing salons, karaokes, cineplexes, gymnasiums, department stores, supermarkets and shops that sell literally everything. What more could one asks for when all that is needed is housed under one roof?

That is not all. The one other thing that I was initiated into while hanging out at these places was people watching. Human beings of all shapes and sizes are there to be ogled, laughed at or impressed with. There are women in skimpy attires with tattoos peeking out from discreet parts of the body. There are women garbed from head to toe. There are men with body piercings that would make the fainthearted cringe.

With so much happening in shopping complexes, time really flies. Sometimes, one day is just no enough to wander around these places and soak in its ambience. It is no wonder these are favourite weekend haunts for people of all ages. Good or bad, this is the inevitable evolution of social activities that comes with development.

After practicing this city folk lifestyle for some time, I realised that we congregate in such places not only for the shopping and people watching. We are social creatures. We have an inborn nature with a need to be among our own. It is there among the sea of people that we feel most human. This peculiar trait is not that unusual after all.