ID :
185900
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185900
The shortlink copeid
MAKING PUBLIC FACILITIES ACCESSIBLE FOR THE DISABLED
By Zulkiple Ibrahim
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- The 2008 enforcement of the Persons With
Disabilities (PWD) Act (Act 685) has heightened awareness among Malaysians about
issues concerning disabled people.
A large number of buildings now provide facilities for the physically
handicapped, including toilets (with grab bars), wheelchair ramps,
suitable-width corridors and lifts.
The PWD Act provides recognition to the disabled and their rights. The act
enables full participation of PWD in society, on par with other members of the
community.
According to statistics from the United Nations (UN), disabled people
account for about 10 percent of the global population. This means that there are
over 500 million people in the world who suffer from some form of disability.
Eighty percent of the world's handicapped population is in developing
countries. In Malaysia alone, which has a population of 28 million, the disabled
population is estimated at around 2.8 million.
SOCIETY'S IGNORANCE AND PREJUDICE
In Malaysia, disabled people are generally well-treated. Any form of
discrimination tends to be due to ignorance or prejudice.
Yet, handicapped people often cannot enjoy the same opportunities as others.
Social activist Gurmukh Singh said that the lack of access to essential
services for disabled people is due to society’s ignorance of their needs.
"The disabled should not be discriminated against and have the right of full
integration into society, and the right to feel secure," he added.
A PRIVILEGE FOR THE DISABLED?
Consider the example of parking facilities.
The need for special parking bays and toilets for handicapped people has
been questioned by some people. The argument is that this amounts to 'privileged
treatment'.
Others insist that they have the right to use these facilities even if they
are not disabled.
"We must understand why (parking) spaces are set aside for the genuinely
disabled," Gurmukh noted.
"Wheelchair users, most of who cannot walk at all, need more room than that
offered by a regular parking space to enter and exit vehicles.
"If a wheelchair user parks in a regular space, the person will be unable to
exit the car or re-enter the vehicle if another car parks next to them.
"Hence, those who abuse parking facilities for the disabled should be
penalized if they ignore warnings," he added.
Gurmukh said the same applied to toilets. People on wheelchairs need more
space to move and position their wheelchairs before they can use a toilet, which
is why toilets for the disabled are bigger.
PUBLIC IGNORANCE
Fortunately, shopping complexes and supermarkets are increasingly allocating
parking areas for disabled people. The bays, which are marked with a
'man-on-wheelchair' sign, are meant to provide easy access to the premises for
the handicapped.
Some premises station a security guard to ensure that other people do not
use parking bays. Unfortunately, several able-bodied drivers also use these
parking lots.
On some days, especially holidays, when shopping centers are crowded,
physically-able people blatantly disregard the 'for the disabled' signs in
parking lots.
"It is common among the Malaysian public: they want to park their cars as
near as possible to the entrance of the hypermarket," Gurmukh pointed out.
"The parking bays are full and the space for the disabled is vacant, so I
park my car there," said a physically able person, who left his car in a PWD
parking bay at a hypermarket.
When asked what would happen if a disabled driver needed to park his car at
the spot, the man answered: "That would be the disabled driver's problem,
because this parking bay can be utilised by others."
The same phenomenon was witnessed at the hypermarket's branch. There was
ample parking space for the handicapped, but most of these spaces were occupied
with cars driven by able-bodied people.
A shopping complex at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara, near here, however,
discourages this practice by issuing tickets to cars without PWD stickers that
have parked in bays reserved for the disabled.
The managements of other premises have also shown concern for the
handicapped. At the parking bay at a flyover restaurant in Sungai Buloh, a RELA
man approaches cars to offer special assistance to any disabled person who might
be on board.
TOILET FACILITIES
While several buildings have special toilets for PWDs, some of these toilets
were found locked for no apparent reason.
At one public medical centre in Kuala Lumpur, a cleaner left his washing
gear in the toilet for the disabled, making it difficult for wheelchair-bound
people to use it.
When asked about this practice, a staff at the clinic replied: "The cleaner
is a migrant worker from a neighbouring country. Obviously, he is ignorant about
facilities for the disabled. Since he saw that the toilet is large, the cleaner
thought he could place his cleaning equipment there".
This is not the only case of ignorance. It happens almost everywhere.
For Gurmukh, the message is loud and clear.
"If the facility is meant for the disabled, leave it for them to use," he
said.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (Bernama) -- The 2008 enforcement of the Persons With
Disabilities (PWD) Act (Act 685) has heightened awareness among Malaysians about
issues concerning disabled people.
A large number of buildings now provide facilities for the physically
handicapped, including toilets (with grab bars), wheelchair ramps,
suitable-width corridors and lifts.
The PWD Act provides recognition to the disabled and their rights. The act
enables full participation of PWD in society, on par with other members of the
community.
According to statistics from the United Nations (UN), disabled people
account for about 10 percent of the global population. This means that there are
over 500 million people in the world who suffer from some form of disability.
Eighty percent of the world's handicapped population is in developing
countries. In Malaysia alone, which has a population of 28 million, the disabled
population is estimated at around 2.8 million.
SOCIETY'S IGNORANCE AND PREJUDICE
In Malaysia, disabled people are generally well-treated. Any form of
discrimination tends to be due to ignorance or prejudice.
Yet, handicapped people often cannot enjoy the same opportunities as others.
Social activist Gurmukh Singh said that the lack of access to essential
services for disabled people is due to society’s ignorance of their needs.
"The disabled should not be discriminated against and have the right of full
integration into society, and the right to feel secure," he added.
A PRIVILEGE FOR THE DISABLED?
Consider the example of parking facilities.
The need for special parking bays and toilets for handicapped people has
been questioned by some people. The argument is that this amounts to 'privileged
treatment'.
Others insist that they have the right to use these facilities even if they
are not disabled.
"We must understand why (parking) spaces are set aside for the genuinely
disabled," Gurmukh noted.
"Wheelchair users, most of who cannot walk at all, need more room than that
offered by a regular parking space to enter and exit vehicles.
"If a wheelchair user parks in a regular space, the person will be unable to
exit the car or re-enter the vehicle if another car parks next to them.
"Hence, those who abuse parking facilities for the disabled should be
penalized if they ignore warnings," he added.
Gurmukh said the same applied to toilets. People on wheelchairs need more
space to move and position their wheelchairs before they can use a toilet, which
is why toilets for the disabled are bigger.
PUBLIC IGNORANCE
Fortunately, shopping complexes and supermarkets are increasingly allocating
parking areas for disabled people. The bays, which are marked with a
'man-on-wheelchair' sign, are meant to provide easy access to the premises for
the handicapped.
Some premises station a security guard to ensure that other people do not
use parking bays. Unfortunately, several able-bodied drivers also use these
parking lots.
On some days, especially holidays, when shopping centers are crowded,
physically-able people blatantly disregard the 'for the disabled' signs in
parking lots.
"It is common among the Malaysian public: they want to park their cars as
near as possible to the entrance of the hypermarket," Gurmukh pointed out.
"The parking bays are full and the space for the disabled is vacant, so I
park my car there," said a physically able person, who left his car in a PWD
parking bay at a hypermarket.
When asked what would happen if a disabled driver needed to park his car at
the spot, the man answered: "That would be the disabled driver's problem,
because this parking bay can be utilised by others."
The same phenomenon was witnessed at the hypermarket's branch. There was
ample parking space for the handicapped, but most of these spaces were occupied
with cars driven by able-bodied people.
A shopping complex at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara, near here, however,
discourages this practice by issuing tickets to cars without PWD stickers that
have parked in bays reserved for the disabled.
The managements of other premises have also shown concern for the
handicapped. At the parking bay at a flyover restaurant in Sungai Buloh, a RELA
man approaches cars to offer special assistance to any disabled person who might
be on board.
TOILET FACILITIES
While several buildings have special toilets for PWDs, some of these toilets
were found locked for no apparent reason.
At one public medical centre in Kuala Lumpur, a cleaner left his washing
gear in the toilet for the disabled, making it difficult for wheelchair-bound
people to use it.
When asked about this practice, a staff at the clinic replied: "The cleaner
is a migrant worker from a neighbouring country. Obviously, he is ignorant about
facilities for the disabled. Since he saw that the toilet is large, the cleaner
thought he could place his cleaning equipment there".
This is not the only case of ignorance. It happens almost everywhere.
For Gurmukh, the message is loud and clear.
"If the facility is meant for the disabled, leave it for them to use," he
said.
