The Digital Awakening » DUN Teratai

Christmas Eve With YB Jenice Lee

Peter Tan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:00:32 +0000

(L to R) Robert Wang, Tan Weng Aun, Peter Tan, Jenice Lee and Mrs. Robert Wang.

After the briefing on the MPAJ Local Draft Plan, ADUN for Teratai Jenice Lee invited us to lunch with her on Christmas Eve at the Pandan Lake Seafood Village. This was to discuss further accessibility issues faced by disabled people in her constituency in relation to the local draft plan. Jenice herself saw firsthand how we had problems getting into the restaurant as the premises did not have a ramp. We also sought her advice on the parties we should seek in the MPAJ to resolve access problems.

Currently, the provision of accessible facilities in the Ampang Jaya is still minimal at best. Although progress is slow, we will keep up with active engagement with the MPAJ to ensure that they are constantly aware of the problems faced by disabled people in the municipality. What is most telling is that the town planner of MPAJ Awang Mustapha revealed that the needs of disabled people were not included in the local draft plan until we brought it up at the briefing. Nevertheless, we thank Jenice for the support she has given to our cause since our first meeting with her shortly after she won the Teratai state constituency in the 12th General Election.

Taklimat Draf Rancangan Tempatan MPAJ

Peter Tan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:55:39 +0000

Peter Tan being carried up two steps at the Dewan MPAJ Pandan Indah.

MPAJ organised a briefing on the Local Draft Plan for residents of the Teratai state constituency. It was held at the Dewan MPAJ at Pandan Indah. This local draft plan was for the development of the Ampang Jaya municipality for the next ten years. ADUN for Teratai Jenice Lee had informed me about this briefing. My main interest in this matter is to see if accessible facilities are included in the draft.

MPAJ Town Planner Awang Mustapha speaking on the Local Draft Plan.

The first inkling that it was not going to be plain sailing was when I discovered that the Dewan MPAJ did not have an access ramp into the hall. There were only steps and I had to be carried up together with my wheelchair. MPAJ will get to hear from me real soon regarding this matter. There is no reason whatsoever not to provide access in compliance with the Uniform Building By Law 34 when MPAJ itself is the authority enforcing this on all public buildings.

ADUN for Teratai Jenice Lee and MPAJ Councillors of the Teratai state constituency at the briefing.

When the forum was opened to the floor after the briefing by MPAJ Town Planner Awang Mustapha, I asked if the local draft plan includes provision of accessible facilities. It came as a shock to me that there were none according to Awang although such facilities were included in the guidelines for the draft. He promised to take this matter into account.

ADUN for Teratai Jenice Lee asking for clarification on some points at the Local Draft Plan briefing

I was even more displeased when Councillor Chan Su San informed the floor that she did emphasise that accessible facilities should be included in the local draft plan during council meetings on the matter. I thought that MPAJ have understood that the municipality barely have accessible facilities and that after the seminar and dialogue with disabled people and the announcement by the Yang Di Pertua at the disability awareness training, such issues whould have been given more attention. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. This oversight is prevalent in local governments all over Malaysia. It is all talk without substance.

Peter Tan asking about the accessible facilities in the Local Draft Plan.

It is very disappointing that a plan as important as this, even though at the draft stages, excludes the needs of disabled people, especially after all the advocacy activities we have initiated with MPAJ. I hope there will be more ADUNs like Jenice Lee and councillors in MPAJ like Chan Su Sann who understood the importance of such facilities and speak out on behalf of disabled people who do not have a representation in the MPAJ.

Meeting With YB Jenice Lee

Peter Tan — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:55:18 +0000

Jenice Lee with Tan Weng Aun, Wang Siew Ming and Peter Tan.
Photo by Wuan.

Right after the 12th General Election, I thought it would be a good idea to present a memorandum to the incoming state governments on issues of accessibility for disabled people. Although there is a law to compel developers to include such features in their projects, this is seldom enforced. The Uniform Building By-Law 34-A (UBBL 34A) under the Street Drainage and Building Act specifically states that:

(3) Buildings to which this by-law applies and which on .the date of commencement of this by-law have been erected, are being erected or have not been erected but plans have been submitted and approved shall be modified or altered to comply with this by-laws within 3 years from the date of commencement of this by-law.

Fifteen years later now, old buildings have not complied with this requirement while many new buildings do not meet the minimum standards of accessibility. The onus of enforcements falls squarely on the majlis perbandaran (municipal councils) and they have done nothing with regards to this matter.

While the UBBL 34A is a move in the right direction, it is made impotent by indifferent officers within the many majlis perbandaran who are either ignorant of the existence of the law or are not technically savvy enough to understand the accessibility standards. Whatever the reasons, disabled people are left high and dry.

Hence, I wrote the memorandum with the hope that it would move the state governments to compel all municipal councils to enforce the UBBL 34A. Naziaty Yaacob of Inclusive Design for Malaysia provided valuable feedback that completed the document. My friends in Penang submitted the same document with some amendments to reflect the situation there to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng a couple of weeks ago.

Here in the Klang Valley, I secured an appointment to meet with the ADUN of Teratai YB Jenice Lee last Saturday morning together with fellow accessibility advocate Wang Siew Ming and Tan Weng Aun. We presented Jenice with the memorandum to forward it to the Selangor Menteri Besar. We spent nearly two hours discussing about the accessibility issues faced by disabled people and the badly done ramps along the walkways at Pandan Perdana and went through the various points in the memorandum.

At the same time, Wang presented Jenice with the Malaysian Standard MS 1184: Code of Practice on Access for Disabled Persons to Public Buildings and the Malaysian Standard 1331: Code of Practice for Access for Disabled People Outside Buildings. He presented the same books to the previous ADUN before the construction of the ramps but not one of the ten ramps complied with the standards and are not safe to use.

The day before concrete was poured, we specifically guided the contractor on how it should be done. He was annoyed with us for fussing over it. We were very disappointed when we went to check on the ramps after it was completed. He did not follow any of the specifications. That rendered the ramp useless. It was truly a waste of public funds.

We truly hope Selangor will live up to its developed state status and take the lead to become the first state to be generally accessible to disabled people. We have gotten a raw deal for so long and we hope that all the new state governments will seriously look into the problems faced by disabled people and resolve it for once and for all. We would also like to thank Jenice for spending the morning listening to us, making an effort to understand what we are facing and for promising to look into it.

First Step Towards An Accessible Pandan Perdana

Peter Tan — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:37:14 +0000

The ADUN for Teratai YB Yap Soo Sun, Bendahari Kelab Sukan Komuniti Dun Teratai En. Mohd. Aznam Mohd. Zain, fellow advocate Wang Siew Ming and I went on a walkabout around Pandan Perdana just now. I had copied 2 complaint mails to YB Yap regarding the lamp post in the middle of the walkway that caused Wuan and I to fall onto the road in May last year. Read this, this and this for context.

Wang and I went to see YB Yap in May to follow up with the issue as it was still not resolved one year later. The offending lamp post has since been relocated. Additionally, we proposed to YB Yap to upgrade the commonly used stretch of walkways in Pandan Perdana into an accessible one as this will not only benefit disabled persons but senior citizens, pregnant women and adults with prams as well.

Apart from the walkways, YB Yap has also agreed to build a ramp at the 7-11 store and another at the Hong Leong Bank. He informed us that his application for a grant for this purpose had just been approved. We presented him with a copy of the Malaysian Standard 1331 (1993) Code of Practice for Access for Disabled People Outside Buildings to ensure that the renovations were properly done.

This is a positive development in the advocacy campaign on accessibility. In time, I hope that the entire Pandan Perdana will be fully accessible and eventually all the areas under the jurisdiction of Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya. I look forward to the day when I can move around conveniently around this area without having to risk life and limb.

Peter Tan Objects To Sending The 2nd Malaysian Astronaut Into Space

Peter Tan — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:48:39 +0000

As a citizen of Malaysia, I hereby object to the suggestion to send the second astronaut into space at the cost of US$30mil (RM102mil) as reported by The Star (Normal to pick space crew at the last minute, says JJ – Tuesday September 25, 2007).

“If Malaysians want him to be sent to space too, I will raise the matter up with the Cabinet. He is after all, ready and able.

He added that the cost of sending the second Malaysian astronaut was estimated to be US$30mil (RM102mil).

This amount can be better used to improve the lives of thousands, if not millions, of our fellow Malaysians. I speak from the viewpoint of a disabled person. This money can be utilised to make the environment and public transport accessible, and support people with severe disabilities who are practicing independent living. These include providing funds for personal assistants and other support services. RM102mil is a lot of money and it should be used judiciously to benefit the most number of people.

For starters, the people at RapidKL kept saying that they do not have the money to make the public transport system under their management accessible. This RM102mil can go a log way towards achieving that. I have spoken to the State Assemblyman for Teratai YB Yap Soo Sun who said that Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya does not have the funds to upgrade the walkways in Pandan Perdana into accessible ones because of the shortage of funds. RM102mil can do wonders to make all the walkways accessible. These are two examples how the RM102mil can be better spent. Why look so far away into outer space when things that are right before our eyes still need a lot of money and work? Lets get the priorities right here.