Labour Day Morning With YB Yap Soo Sun

My fellow advocates on disability issues, Wang and Tan, and I have been mulling on a date to meet the State Assemblyman for the area that we are residing in. At 10.00am this morning, we went to meet the ADUN of Teratai YB Yap Soo Sun at his residence. I handed to him a follow-up letter of complaint to the Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) regarding inaccessible walkways in Pandan Perdana.

He has agreed to look into the matter and made plans to go on a walkabout around Pandan Perdana with us to view the challenges that wheelchair users have to face when moving about in the area. We intimated to him that RapidKL will be launching accessible buses soon but without corresponding accessible walkways and bus stops, wheelchair users are still unable to board the buses. YB Yap said that after understanding the situation better, he will submit a proposal to the state government for funding to upgrade the infrastructure.

We also informed him that we plan to set up a Centre for Independent Living in Pandan Perdana. He was also very supportive of this initiative and promised to assist us in any way within his means as a State Assemblyman. For this matter, we will draw up a proposal and present to him as soon as possible.

This has been a fruitful morning for the three of us although we also know that it may take months, if not years, before any concrete action will be taken by the local authorities and state government. It is a good start for us. And then again, the General Election is coming soon. Anything can happen between now and then.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments are closed.