Do you see any similarity in the two images above? One was screen captured from the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Negeri Pulau Pinang website while the other is an image of a wheelchair that I superimposed against a background of the Jalur Gemilang for an entry that I wrote in 2005 titled Kemerdekaan Untuk Siapa?.
JKM Penang did not seek my permission to use the image. What annoyed me most is that they cropped the image to remove the copyright notice. I would have allowed them to use it had they taken the initiative to just ask and agree to credit me properly.
The United Nations Development Programme – Malaysia (UNDP Malaysia) had wanted to use some of the images from my blog. The images on public transport were for their project on accessible public transport in Penang. They wrote an email to ask for permission which I willingly gave.
It is regrettable that a government agency that deals with the rights of disadvantaged people does not practice similar graciousness. I have sent an email to the Pengarah Kebajikan Masyarakat Negeri Pulau Pinang (Director of Social Welfare for Penang) to request for the image be removed from the website with immediate effect.
Update: April 23, 2009 – 12.26am
The wheelchair image has been replaced with the JKM logo.
