accessible toilet – Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening

Toilet tales – Breaking Barriers – The Borneo Post – 25 October, 2015

Toilet tales
October 25, 2015, Sunday Peter Tan, mail@petertan.com

THE first time I attended an international conference on disability, I was awed by the sheer number of disabled people gathered in a single place. Altogether, there were 3,500 participants from around the globe. It was the Disabled Peoples’ International World Assembly in Incheon, South Korea. I was invited to present a paper on Independent Living in Malaysia.

The moment I arrived at the venue, the Korea International Exhibition & Convention Center (Kintex), I spotted two rows of accessible parking spaces. There were at least 30 lots located near the main entrance of the building. This was a disabled driver’s paradise. I had started driving then and looking for a parking space back home was always a hassle. It was either misused by non-disabled people or none were provided.

The sprawling complex had several accessible toilets but it was obviously insufficient for this large number of people. I was most impressed that the organisers were mindful to ensure the comfort of participants by setting up 10 accessible portable toilets outside the building. That was the one time I never had to worry about not finding a toilet. They were clean, spacious and well-maintained.

Incidentally, I was invited to speak on Independent Living in Malaysia again at the Asean Disability Forum Conference held at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week.

The participants were from member countries of the regional grouping. The floor where the ballroom and function rooms were located had only one accessible toilet. I had to wait for 30 minutes for my turn to use it.

I have no bladder control. When it is filled up, it will leak, which was exactly what happened that day. I had drank a little too much while making the presentation because my mouth was dry. This is caused by the medicine I take to treat my overactive bladder. The medicine is a two-edged sword. While it is supposed to reduce the frequency I need to urinate, it also makes me drink more to overcome the dryness in my mouth.

Fortunately, I was wearing adult diapers. I usually put one on when I am out and for moments like that when I am unable to get to a toilet in time. Ideally, my bladder should be totally drained every three hours with a catheter to prevent urine from flowing back to my already diseased kidneys and causing further damage. That is the reason I make sure I know where the toilets are in places that I go to.

I spend about 20 minutes emptying my bladder each time. With the amount of time I need, which is also the average duration required by my disabled friends, one toilet can only accommodate three users per hour. Using a public toilet for this length of time is not an issue normally but when there is a large concentration of people who need to use the same facility, it could turn into a messy situation.

Many accessible toilets in Malaysia are poorly designed, even those in luxury hotels and upmarket shopping malls. The most common mistakes are doors that open inwards, fixtures that cannot be operated by less functional hands, toilet bowls that are too low and mirrors that are too high. Other times, they are used as storerooms for cleaning utensils and chemicals.

I once asked a cleaner at a shopping mall why she kept mops, pails and detergents in the accessible toilet. She said that there was no other place for her to keep those items and promptly pushed them aside to let me in. Even then, I had difficulty using the sink. Bottles of detergents under it prevented me from getting close to wash my hands.

The most ridiculous installation in a toilet I ever came across was at a hypermarket in Penang. The flip up grab bar is useful for transferring from wheelchair to toilet and vice versa. It is installed on the wall parallel to the toilet bowl. In the case of the hypermarket, the bar was secured to the floor.

The sight was as frustrating as it was flabbergasting. Who in his right mind would do something like that? It has no function and is an eyesore to boot. The grab bar on the left should also be attached with the vertical bar placed at the front instead of at the back. Its purpose is for users to pull themselves up with it. I found out later that complaints to the management were disregarded and nothing was done to rectify the mistakes.

Toilet facilities are integral in a modern civilised society for privacy, hygiene and health purposes. It is even more crucial for disabled people with health issues. Designing and constructing one that is accessible is not difficult. All it takes is the understanding of why specific fixtures are needed and how they are used.

I hope that one day in the near future, the standard of accessible public toilets in Malaysia can be on par with those in Japan and Korea in terms of practicality in design, maintenance and cleanliness. Disabled people should not have to worry if the toilets at places we go to are usable. It would certainly make our time out more enjoyable.

#tanyanajib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak invited Malaysians on Facebook and Twitter to ask him questions from 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm today. The Twitter hashtag is #tanyanajib while questions through Facebook can be submitted at www.facebook.com/najibrazak. I have never seen a Twitter timeline scroll down so fast. Due to the overwhelming response, the time to pose questions was extended to 6.00 pm.

I thought that this would be a good opportunity to pose the questions on longstanding disability issues to him and see if he responds. These issues are, after all, not new but ones that have gone unresolved for the longest time. Will Najib address any of them? Time will tell. By the way, at this moment, #tanyanajib is trending in ninth position worldwide. We sure have a lot of questions for the Prime Minister!

#tanyanajib Why are roads in KL full of potholes? Dangerous to motorcyclists. DBKL not doing a good job.

#tanyanajib Why is Prasarana/RapidKL so reluctant in using non-step buses? We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Look at Japan and Australia.

#tanyanajib Why is full relief on income tax not given to purchase of rehabilitative and support equipment for disabled people?

#tanyanajib Will you amend UBBL 34A to make it COMPULSORY for all buildings and street environment to have access for disabled people?

#tanyanajib Will the MRT be barrier-free?

#tanyanajib What is the govt doing to prevent abuse of parking and toilet for disabled people?

#tanyanajib Public transport is not accessible. Disabled people stuck at home. What is the govt doing to resolve this?

#tanyanajib Will Malaysia enact punitive anti-discrimination law to protect the rights of disabled people?

#tanyanajib Join OKUs on a wheelchair ride around KL to experience the mega-problems we face everyday. Not much has changed since Akta OKU.

#tanyanajib Is the govt changing “orang kurang upaya” to something more empowering? We certainly are not people of lesser abilities.

What is the govt’s plan in making Malaysia barrier free? If yes, is there a time frame to it? #tanyanajib @ShahrizatJalil

Love Letter To PLUS – Unusable “Accessible” Toilet

Puan Khalilah Talha is the General Manager Corporate Communications at PLUS Expressways Berhad. She had responded to my complaints regarding the facilities along the North South Expressway, especially the dangerous ramps at the Ayer Keroh RSA last year.

The email below is regarding the toilet with the wheelchair logo above the door that I could not use at Ulu Bernam RSA last week.

Dear Puan Khalilah,

I would like to point you to the “accessible” toilet at Ulu Bernam RSA Southbound. I was truly shocked to discover that I could not close the door after I got in. It opened inwards and there was little space for me to maneuver. That being the only toilet provided for disabled people at the RSA, I had no choice but to empty my bladder into my diaper. It is ridiculous to indicate that the toilet is for disabled people when it is not usable by a wheelchair user. I hope this matter is rectified soonest possible.

On another note, I am truly disappointed to note that my previous complaints 1 year ago regarding accessible parking were not looked into. The parking spaces at the RSAs and lay-bys that I stopped at do not comply with the code of practice. Most of them are too narrow. Worse still, most of these spaces were occupied by vehicles with non-disabled passengers or drivers. This defeats the purpose of allocating such space when disabled people do not have the opportunity to use them at all.

I use the NSE frequently. As a disabled person, I am not even asking for privileges and discount on tolls. I pay the same fare as other non-disabled drivers. All I am asking for is that PLUS provide facilities that are functional, safe and convenient for disabled drivers and passengers alike. That is the least PLUS can do to ensure equality to disabled people using the NSE.

I would like to advise PLUS to conduct a thorough access audit on all the RSAs and lay-bys to ensure that the facilities comply with the code of practice. Putting the wheelchair logo on the toilet door or painting the same logo on the parking space do not make them usable by disabled people. I am sure you are aware of the Malaysian Standard MS 1183, MS 1184 and MS 1331. I discovered from a cursory audit last week that many of the facilities do not comply with the requirements.

With the Akta Orang Kurang Upaya in force now and Malaysia being a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that will soon be ratified, it is time for PLUS to seriously work towards ensuring that all public facilities along the expressways are fully accessible, not only to disabled people, but to everyone that uses them.

Your attention in this matter is most appreciated.

Thank you.

Regards,
Peter Tan