Ng Yen Yen – Page 3 – Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening

Ibrahim Ali: Hello! Where Is Your Brain?

Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin should be consoled by the fact that he is not the only court jester in the august Parliament House. His challenge to tetraplegic Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh to “stand up if you dare” is overshadowed by the idiocy of another infamous Parliamentarian.

Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali asked Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia why Karpal was allowed to ask questions sitting down instead of standing like the other MPs. I believe this is the stupidest question ever asked in the Parliament by an MP in Malaysian history. It is a wonder how such cerebrally-deficient people can get elected to represent the people.

In asking that question, Ibrahim has clearly shown his contempt for disabled people. He is intolerant of people who do things differently from him. His myopic views disqualifies him from becoming an effective people’s representative. Such utterance in the Parliament is an embarrassment to Malaysia especially when we have just become a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Karpal is in a wheelchair because he is paralysed from the neck down. If he could stand, I am sure he would want to. It is no fun sitting on the wheelchair. I know because I have been a wheelchair user for the past 24 years. If Ibrahim does not know what the meaning of paralysis is, he should go look it up in a dictionary. Better still, I challenge Ibrahim to sit on a wheelchair throughout the entire first session of the Parliament up to May 27 to feel how it is like.

I would like to advise our newly elected MPs to see the person and not the disability or the wheelchair. Not being able to stand does not make Karpal less effective as an MP. Neither does being able to stand makes Ibrahim a better MP. Ibrahim should take heed of the following saying: It is better to keep one’s mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubts.”

The International Parliamentary Union (IPU) has published a document called the Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. The document in PDF can be downloaded here. MPs and State Assemblymen who are genuine in respecting the rights of disabled people should read this handbook to understand that people are disabled not by their conditions but by attitudinal and physical barriers.

They must also understand that disabled people is one of the largest minority groups in Malaysia that has been left out from mainstream society and marginalised in many ways. It is time the people’s representatives through the mandate they have been given push for substantial changes in the societal and governmental systems to ensure that disabled people are brought up to par with the progress that everyone else has been enjoying.

NST Online » Frontpage
2008/05/01
Dewan Rakyat: It looks like nothing has changed between two foes

POLITICAL maverick Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali (Ind-Pasir Mas) and Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) renewed their mutual dislike of each other.
While Karpal chose to be political in his salvo, Ibrahim got personal and left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.

The two took swipes at each other, when Karpal demanded to know the status of the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

“He contested under the Pas ticket in the recent elections. How come he sits here as an Independent?” he asked.

Ibrahim shot back and asked Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia why the wheelchair-bound Karpal was allowed to ask questions sitting instead of standing.
Ibrahim Ali’s remarks did not go down well with Pakatan Rakyat MPs.

Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) called on the chair to make Ibrahim retract his unparliamentary language.

Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) weighed in and said there was no excuse for the language used by Ibrahim.

Pandikar Amin sidestepped the issue but cautioned members not to use unparliamentary language.

Karpal also continued where he had left off in the 11th parliament with Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan).

Karpal called Bung Moktar “Big Foot creature” and Bung Moktar retaliated by calling Karpal, “Big Monkey”.

In the lobby, Karpal said Pas must be responsible for Ibrahim’s behaviour. “They made sure he got elected.”

But Nasharuddin Mat Isa (Pas-Bachok) said as Ibrahim is an independent MP, he was not bound by Pakatan’s whip.

Later, Bung Mokhtar described Karpal as a “good friend”.

“I agree that it was unethical for Pasir Mas (Ibrahim) to touch on Karpal’s disability.”

Update:

The Star Online
Saturday May 3, 2008
Respect the disabled, Ng tells MP

KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will send a letter to the Pasir Mas MP to warn him against making insensitive remarks about disabled people.

Its minister, Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen, said she had instructed her officer to send the letter to independent candidate Datuk Ibrahim Ali at the post-Cabinet meeting yesterday.

“His words have hurt many disabled people and he has to be more cautious in future.

“He has to be more selective in his words and be sensitive,” she said at a press conference.

In the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday, Ibrahim had teased wheelchair-bound Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh for “not respecting the House” by not standing up when speaking in Parliament.

Disabled Persons’ Endless Problems With Public Transport

Photo by Wuan.

During RapidKL’s accessible buses pre-launch briefing for the media, Chief Operating Office Mohd. Ali. Mohd. Nor announced that 100 accessible buses will be put into service in the Klang Valley on June 1. These buses will only serve the trunk lines and city shuttles but not the local shuttles that serve housing estates. This defeats the purpose of putting these buses in service as wheelchair users will be unable to get to the trunk line hubs from their homes. Mohd. Ali should realise that the last mile connectivity is as important as the trunk lines and city shuttles.

Another major area of concern is the mismatch of height between the bus stops and the buses. The difference can be as much as 9 inches, rendering the gradient of the ramp too steep even with assisted boarding for wheelchair users. This is prevalent in most of the bus stops that the Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) and officers from RapidKL discovered during a preview of the buses.

Local authorities are responsible for infrastructure such as bus stops and walkways. They must work hand in hand with RapidKL to ensure that this problem is resolved soonest possible. Additionally, walkways must be made accessible as required by the Uniform Building By-Law 34A (UBBL 34A). This by-law had been gazetted by the various state governments in the mid-90s. Unfotunately, the requirement of this by-law is ignored most of the time, leading to the pathetic and dangerous state of the walkways that exist now.

Disabled persons cannot and should not be expected to advocate to so many different ministries on only a single issue like public transport. For example, we have met with Deputy Minister of Finance Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen and Minister of Transport Dato’ Seri Chan Kong Choy. RapidKL is owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad which is the holding company under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. At the same time RapidKL is also under the purview of the Ministry of Transport. Additionally, due to the bus stops being inaccessible, we have to advocate to the various local authorities which is under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Menteri Besar. And that is only one thin slice of the issues that affects disabled persons.

Dato’ Seri Chan had the foresight to establish a high level public transport advisory committee chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General of the ministry to look into the grouses of disabled persons with regards to public transport. According the him, it was set up as a single platform for disabled persons to voice out their problems without the need to run around to meet the different transport operators individually. For this, Dato’ Seri Chan gets two thumbs up.

However, it is time the government see the bigger picture of the problems faced by disabled persons. It is neither feasible nor cost effective to address issues on a piecemeal basis. The most apparent example is the mismatch of height between RapidKL’s accessible buses and bus stops. Solving one problem creates a host of other problems. It is a never ending cycle. By the way things are being done now disabled persons will still be facing barriers come the next fifty years.

Several leaders in the disability movement in Malaysia have suggested that a division be set up within the highest level of the government, namely the Office of the Prime Minister, to oversee and manage all issues related to disabled persons. With that, we do not have to scamper from one ministry to another to have our voices heard and our issues resolved. As far as we can see, this is the most effective solution. Apa macam Pak Lah?

Wheeling Around The Corridors of Power

Parliament Building Malaysia and Tunku Abdul Rahman's statue

The Parliament Building. In the foreground is the statue of Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Photo by Wuan.

Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Deputy Finance Minister and Chairman of MCA Wanita invited the Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) for a meeting with her at the Parliament Building yesterday. The delegation headed by Christine Lee and V. Murugeswaran included Sia Siew Chin, Wong Nam Sang, Danny Tan, Fairuz, Bathmavathi Krishnan, M. Manoharan and I.

BEAT members outside the Parliament Building.

The hour-long meeting was a fruitful one as we exchanged ideas with BEAT stating our stand on accessible public transport and Dr. Ng advising us on how we should pursue the matter. At the same time, we were also able to briefly meet Deputy Transport Minister Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar who agreed to meet us again to look into our grievances.

The steep ramp into the lift lobby next to the Main Building of the Parliament.
Photo by Wuan.

After the meeting concluded, Senator Lee Sing Chooi invited us into the Dewan Negara to witness the proceedings. It was an honour and privilege to be in the Senate and amongst the esteemed Senators present. The most recognisable face in the room was acclaimed actor and film director Datuk Jins Samsudin who is a member of the Senate.

Road leading to the exit of the Parliament compound

The security checkpoint. View from inside the Parliament Building compound.
Photo by Wuan.

When the Senate adjourned for lunch break, YB Chew Mei Fun, Parliamentary Secretary to the Women’s, Family and Community Development Ministry invited us for lunch at the Parliament House cafeteria. It was a pity that we were not allowed to take our cameras into the building. It would have been an even more memorable event if we could record the event in images.

The Deer Park next to the Parliament Building compound.
Photo by Wuan.

It is also ironic the Parliament that passed the Uniform Building By-Law 34A (UBBL 34A) did not see it fit to lead by example by making access into the building suitable for wheelchair users. The ramp into the lift lobby was way too steep and definitely did not follow the Malaysian standards stipulated for such facilities.