July 06, 2010 21:21 PM
Malaysia Signs Convention On Rights Of Persons With DisabilitiesKUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) — Malaysia on Tuesday signed the instrument to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and withdrew its reservations on several articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
The signing of the instrument by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil showed the government’s commitment to protecting and improving the welfare of the disabled, women and children.
Shahrizat said the Convention on the disabled outlined eight common principles, including respect and self-reliance, removing discrimination against the disabled, and their full and effective participation in society.
“We hope it will bring change to the lives of the disabled in this country,” she said at the signing ceremony, here.
Shahrizat also handed over the instrument ratifying the Convention to Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot Jaem to be sent to the United Nations for further action.
On the withdrawing of Malaysia’ reservations on certain articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Shahrizat said the government would give children the freedom to have their say and the right to form associations and to assemble peacefully.
She said the move was in line with the recognition given to children’s rights as they would be the nation’s future leaders.
Besides that, she added, the government would also fix the minimum age for women to marry and make the marriage registration compulsory, remove prejudices and customs that discriminated against women, and stress on opportunities to be given to women to hold public office.
Shahrizat said when the government agreed to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, it acted by appointing two women as Syariah Court judges recently.
“This is a positive step in raising the status of women in this country by giving them important decision-making positions,” she said.
— BERNAMA
Tag: Ministry of Women Family and Community Development
International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2009
Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I would rather that it be called International Day of Disabled Persons. There is a difference between the two. The former puts the onus of disablement on the person. The person has a disability which is the main cause of the problems that he faces in society. The latter describes the situation of the person who is disabled by attitudinal and physical barriers in society. Read more about what I have written regarding this topic under “Social Model of Disability“.
The theme for this year is “Making the MDGs Inclusive: Empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities around the worldâ€. MDGs means Millennium Development Goals. The following is a brief on the MDGs with regards to disabled people according to United Nations Enable:
MDGs and persons with disabilities
The United Nations and the global community continue to work for the mainstreaming of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development. Although many commitments have been made to include disability and persons with disabilities in development, the gap between policy and practice continues.
Ensuring that persons with disabilities are integrated into all development activities is essential in order to achieve internationally agreed development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs can only be achieved if persons with disabilities and their family members are included. This in turn will ensure that people with disabilities and their family members benefit from international development initiatives. Efforts to achieve the MDGs and implement the Convention are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.
More information on the MDGs and persons with disabilities [http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1470]
So, today is a day dedicated to people like me – people on wheelchairs, people who are blind, people who are deaf and people who are living with other forms of impairment. Thank you so much for remembering us and honouring us and recognising us. All these have no meaning if no affirmative action is taken to reduce the socioeconomic gap between disabled people and non-disabled people.
This can only be achieved by making infrastructure and services accessible to all, first and foremost public transport and the built environment. Without access to these two, there is no way for disabled people to come into mainstream society. The federal government, state governments and local authorities, have the means and resources to do this. Sad to say, most of them do not take the initiative to make the infrastructure inclusive.
The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat), through the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat Malaysia (Department of Social Welfare Malaysia) is holding a celebration in conjunction with this day on December 5 at Komplex MAB in Brickfields. The Ministry has chosen not to follow the theme promoted by United Nations and instead use “Pendayaupayaan OKU Ke Arah Pembangunan Potensi Diri” (Empowering Disabled People Towards Developing Self Potential).
Talk is cheap. I have heard ministers, wives of ministers and government officials talk about making life easier for disabled people. Many of these “positive announcements” are archived in this blog. As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed. 1Malaysia kah or Rakyat Didahulukan kah, disabled people are still marginalised in every way through ommission, ignorance and discrimination. The people in government should stop talking and start working towards achieving equalisation of opportunities for disabled people. Just resolve our issues. It is as simple as that. We do not need the government spending money celebrating this day but not doing anything afterwards. No thank you!
The Suffering Of Disabled People In Najib’s 1Malaysia
The Star in ‘Promote paralympics’, says Najib (November 20, 2009) reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as saying that the marginalisation of disabled people is prevalent.
“The marginalisation of persons with disabilities is prevalent and in many countries there are few sports opportunities available to them,†Najib added.
On a brighter note, he said there had been increasing support for the participation of persons with disabilities over the past 20 years.
In line with the 1Malaysia concept of “People First, Performance Nowâ€, Najib said it was important to provide opportunities for people from all walks of life, regardless of race, culture and religion.
I am glad Najib realises that. I hope he also meant disabled people in Malaysia when he talked about marginalisation. Disabled people in Malaysia is one of the most marginalised groups in the country. Having been a wheelchair user for the past 25 years, I can say with certainty that the government is still neglecting the needs of disabled people after all these years, irrespective of what Najib said in his opening speech at the 14th International ParalymÂpic Committee (IPC) Conference and General Assembly on Thursday.
Not every disabled person can be a paralympian. Neither do many want to be when our struggles with bread and butter issues are never ending. We cannot go to school to get an education. We cannot get gainful employment. We cannot even move around conveniently. Many disabled people have poor quality of life. Many are living in poverty. They have to depend on their family for sustenance and care. Opportunity is a foreign word to them. Excelling in sports is the least of our worries when we have so many more pressing matters to worry about.
Every now and then, the government will promise to resolve the problems of inaccessibility in the built environment and public transport. All these are just empty talk. Nothing has been done to address these issues seriously. Look at the street environment around you. Are these places safe for blind people and wheelchair users to traverse? Look at RapidKL. Three years after they promised to make their buses accessible, disabled people still cannot board the buses. Likewise Rapid Penang.
Disabled people have met with former Parlimentary Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun who is now the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Deputy Minister of Finance Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen who later became the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development and now the Minister of Tourism, former Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and current Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat. Even the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor mentioned about the plight of disabled people and public transport.
There were promises. There were excuses. And then there were more promises. Still, nothing happened. Disabled people advocating for accessible public transport and barrier-free environment is still being given the runaround. Dear Datuk Seri Najib, please show us where the increasing support for our participation in society is. My disabled friends and I still feel very neglected.
The Star Online
News
Home > News > NationFriday November 20, 2009
‘Promote paralympics’, says NajibKUALA LUMPUR: Voluntary organisations, the corporate sector and disabled athletes should work together to promote the paralympic movement, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said Malaysian sports leaders were playing significant roles in the Asean, Asian and world paralympic movement.
Sticking together: Hong Kong athlete Yu Chui Yee accompanying Sidkova Marketa from the Czech Republic at the opening of the 14th International Paralympic Committee general assembly and conference in Kuala Lumpur Thursday.“This is in recognition of Malaysia’s capabilities in championing the paralympic movement,†he said.
Asked whether Malaysia would host the Paralympic Games, he said that if the country were to do so, it would have to be chosen for the main Olympic Games, “which is a tall orderâ€.
“It will not happen in the foreseeable future. You have to be a strong sports nation, make an impact and be a force to be reckoned with at the global level to be considered,†he said at the opening of the 14th International ParalymÂpic Committee general assembly and conference here yesterday.
The United Nations estimates that there are about 500 million persons with disabilities in the world, the majority in developing countries, he said.
“The marginalisation of persons with disabilities is prevalent and in many countries there are few sports opportunities available to them,†Najib added.
On a brighter note, he said there had been increasing support for the participation of persons with disabilities over the past 20 years.
In line with the 1Malaysia concept of “People First, Performance Nowâ€, Najib said it was important to provide opportunities for people from all walks of life, regardless of race, culture and religion.