Undang-Undang Kecil 34A Undang-Undang Kecil Bangunan Seragam – Page 4 – Peter Tan

More disabled-friendly public transport ordered: The Star – April 14, 2009

The following is an excerpt from the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (Akta Orang Kurang Upaya 2008):

Access to public transport facilities

27. (1) Persons with disabilities shall have the right to access to and use of public transport facilities, amenities and services open or provided to the public on equal basis with persons without disabilities.

The issue about access to public transport for disabled people has been left lingering since the time disabled people came out to protest against Star LRT for barring us from taking the trains in 1994. More recently, when Dato’ Seri Chan Kong Choy was the Minister of Transport he had a meeting with disabled people at his ministry where he announced that all public transport will be made accessible. My friend Robert Wang and I approached Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat in August 2008 regarding the same issue when he came to Pandan Perdana to officiate an event at the Pandan Lake.

Today, The Star reported that Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has directed agencies under the Ministry to provide accessible facilities. It is time the Ministry of Transport stop dilly dallying with lip service only to this long standing issue and work together with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to look for ways to resolve it for once and for all.

The article quoted the Minister of Transport as saying that he had come across some cases where physically-challenged individuals struggled to get onto public transport. Struggling is an understatement. For wheelchair users, it is an impossibility. It is physically challenging for us all right. These challenges are created by a non-inclusive public transport and casued by the lack of enforcement of the Uniform Building By-Law 34A.

The government has acknowledged that access to public transport is a right for disabled people. So why are accessible facilities still not provided in this area? How long more do disabled people have to wait to be able to use public transport? And whatever happened to the Master Plan on Public Transportation Policy commissioned by the Ministry of Transport on 2008 under the Abdullah administration?

The Star Online
Home > News > Nation

Tuesday April 14, 2009
More disabled-friendly public transport ordered

KUALA LUMPUR: Agencies under the Transport Ministry, including KTM Bhd, have been directed to come out with more facilities to make it easier for the disabled who use public transport.

Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said yesterday there was still room for improvement in the facilities provided for the physically-challenged.

“We are aware that a lot of public transport facilities do not take their needs into consideration.

“At the fourth quarter of last year, I instructed several agencies under my ministry to take into account the needs of these individuals,” he told reporters after opening the KKAJ Vocational Centre for the Disabled in Bandar Baru Ampang here yesterday.

Overcoming obstacles: (From right) Resorts World Bhd deputy chairman Tun Hanif Omar sealing a packet of roasted green peas in the presence of Ong and Resorts World Bhd executive director Tan Sri Alwi Jantan during the opening of the KKAJ Vocational Centre for the Disabled in Bandar Baru Ampang in Kuala Lumpur.

Ong, who is the patron of the centre, said he had instructed the agencies to speed up the process.

“I wish to see the public transport system, whether it is under the purview of my ministry or other ministries, to take this matter seriously.

“I know it is not easy and there are a lot of obstacles but we must endeavour to overcome the challenges,” he said.

Ong said he had come across some cases where physically-challenged individuals struggled to get onto public transport.

“I do not think it is fair.”

Earlier in his speech, Ong said physically-challenged individuals needed assistance not in the form of welfare.

“They need help in the terms of training opportunities to excel in life and to compete with others. These are the key parameters that we should set our sights on,” he said.

The KKAJ Vocational Centre for the Disabled is set up by Resorts World Bhd and Kelab Kercergasan Ampang Jaya to give disabled people a chance to acquire skills and to earn an income for themselves.

The centre provides training in paper lamination, document binding and food packaging.

Inclusive Tourism And The Advocacy For Accessible Facilities

The advocacy for accessibility in the built environment has been ongoing for at least twenty years in Malaysia assuming we began from the time the Malaysian Standards MS 1184: Code of Practice for Access for Disabled Persons to Public Buildings and MS 1331: Code of Practice for Access of Disabled Persons Outside Buildings were first drafted.

By-law 34A of the Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL 34A) gazetted separately by the various state governments in the 1990s has done little to change the scenario. UBBL 34A requires that all new buildings provide access for disabled people. Buildings that do not have such facilities when the by-law came into force must provide them within three years.

No doubt new buildings such as shopping complexes have a certain degree of accessibility, these are far and few in between. These buildings by themselves are islands in an ocean of barriers. It is difficult for disabled people to get to these places as there is lack of connectivity in the form of accessible pedestrain facilities and public transport.

One of the excuses given often for lack of accessible facilities is budget. The federal government does not have the budget. The state governments do not have the budget. Municipal governments do not have the budget. To exacerbate the situation, municipal governments who are responsible for the approval of building plans do not have the expertise to ensure that MS 1184 is strictly adhered to.

It is all about money. As long as providing accessible public facilities do not generate revenue, there is little reason for the government to spend money on it. From the way I see it, if the disabled people’s movement in Malaysia continue to advocate the way we are used to, come next fifty years, we will still be complaining about the same issue.

Disabled people need to come out with a fresh angle to advocate. We have evolved from advocating solely for disabled people to embrace a wider circle of people who may find such facilities convenient. These include senior citizens, pregnant women, adults with prams and children. This is a good strategy but obviously is not sufficient to move the powers that be.

Advocates for accessibility should seriously consider promoting the idea of inclusive tourism in Malaysia. Tourism is a major industry in this country. According to Tourism Malaysia, 22 million tourist came to Malaysia in 2008 generating a total receipt of RM49,561.2 million.

Inclusive tourism applies the principles of Universal Design to allow the participation of the broadest range of tourists, principally disabled people. However, other categories of tourists like senior citizens may find this form of tourism convenient due to the accessible facilities.

Accessible tourism will definitely benefit the economy by tapping into groups of tourists who do not usually consider Malaysia as a destination previously due to the barriers that we have here. The facilities in turn will benefit disabled people locally. At the same time, it will also spur dosmetic tourism for disabled people as there are presently limited options in travelling to other countries due to the same issues.

I truly feel that this is a strategy worth looking into. We have not gained much all the years that we have advocated for accessibility. If this does not work, we have nothing much to lose anyway. In fact, the tourism industry in Malaysia as a whole has much to lose as more and more countries around the world move towards making their tourist destinations accessible should the powers that be continue to ignore this matter.

Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) 34A

STREET, DRAINAGE AND BUILDING ACT 1974
UNIFORM BUILDING (AMENDMENT) BY-LAWS 1991

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 133 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, the State Authority makes the following by-laws;

1. These by-laws may be cited as the Uniform Building (Amendment) By-laws (UBBL) 1991.

2. By-law 2 of the UBBL 1984, which in this By-laws is referred to as “the principal By-laws” is amended by inserting immediately after interpretation “detached building” the following interpretation: “disabled persons” means people; with a physical, hearing or sight impairment which affects their mobility or their use of buildings as referred to under by-laws 34A:

3. The principal By-laws is amended by inserting immediately after by-law 34, the following new by-law 34A:

34A. (1) Any building or part thereof to which this by-law applies shall –

(a) be approved with access to enable disabled persons to get into, out of and within the building for which access is provided wholly or mainly for the inspection, maintenance or repair of the building, its services or fixed plant or machinery; and

(b) be designed with facilities for use by disabled persons.

(2) The requirements of this by-law shall be deemed to be satisfied by compliance with Malaysian Standard MS 1183 and MS 1184.

(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.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) the local authority may where it is satisfied that it is justifiable to do so –

(a) allow an extension or further extensions of the period within which the requirements of this by-law are to be complied with; or

(b) allow variations, deviations or exemptions as it may specify from any provisions of this by-law.

(5) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the local authority under paragraph (4) may within 30 days of the receipt of the decision appeal in writing to the State Authority, whose decisions shall be final.

(6) The requirements of this by-law shall apply to any of the following buildings or any part thereof:

(a) offices, banks, post offices, shops, department stores, supermarkets and other administrative and commercial buildings; except shop-houses existing at the commencement of this by-law;

(b) rail, road, sea and air travel buildings and associated concourses, car parking buildings and factories;

(d) restaurants, concert halls, theatres, cinemas, conference buildings, community buildings, swimming pools, sports buildings and other refreshment, entertainment and recreation buildings;

(e) religious buildings;

(f) schools, colleges, universities, zoos, museums, art galleries, libraries, exhibition buildings and other educational, cultural and scientific buildings; and

(g) hostels, hotels and other residential buildings other than single family private dwelling houses.

LIST OF STATE GAZETTE NOTIFICATION ON AMENDMENT TO UBBL 1984 ON BUILDING REQUIREMENTS FOR DISABLED PERSONS

1. Perlis – 3 March 1994 – PS.P.U.2
2. Kedah – 30 November 1992 –
3. Penang – 11 November 1993 – Pg.P.U.26
4. Perak – 13 May 1994 – Pk.P.U.26
5. Selangor – 20 January 1994 – Sel.C.U.95
6. Negeri Sembilan – 31 January 1991 – N.S.P.U.95
7. Melaka – 22 May 1996 –
8. Johor – 7 May 1992 – J.P.U.14
9. Pahang – 28 March 1996 –
10. Terengganu – 15 December 1993 –
11. Kelantan – 3 July 1992 – Kn.P.U.5/92
12. Federal Territory – 13 August 1993 – P.U.A.305/92

*Note: The UBBL 34A was extracted from “Guidelines on Buildings Requirements for Disabled Persons” published by the Bahagian Kawalan Bangunan, Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan, Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan.