Public transport still inaccessible to disabled

Public transport still inaccessible to disabled


Last week, I was involved in the access audit program for public transportation around Klang Valley.

The purpose of the access audit is to explore whether the public transports are accessible to everyone, especially the disabled people.

Three stations were chosen, namely KL Sentral, Masjid Jamek LRT station and the Kepong KTM station. The three stations were found difficult to access, especially for disabled people, the elderly and foreigners.

For blind people, there are no tactile blocks on the floor inside the building. Perhaps, there were tactile blocks outside building, but it was not built accordingly.

In addition, there were no Braille dots on the handrail and information board. These will cause them problems when not travelling with a caretaker.

Most importantly, the announcement does not show clearly the directions, thus they cannot find their way.

On the other hand, the ramp is not built according to standards for wheelchair users, some ramps are too steep and some ramps are too long. Gaps are found in between the platform; and the ramp is not built at the entrance but at the corner like the one in Masjid Jamek LRT station.

When looking for toilets, there is no clear signage. In fact, the cleaner takes the opportunity to rest and store their things in the disabled toilet units, and the wheelchair users cannot use the toilets. For deaf and dumb users, the stations' signage is not useful.

The colour used for the signage is too dim for them to see them properly. The other problem we found is that the staircases are not painted with contrasting colours and do not have handrails.

This is a disservice to the elderly and disabled.Foreigners will find the signage unhelpful and confusing. For instance, it is hard to understand how to make the switch from the LRT to monorails.

Most importantly, the able bodied often make unacceptable use of the disabled facilities. They take toilets and parking spaces allocated for the disabled and prevent the truly deserving from using them.

Meaningful Deepavali

Thursday October 22, 2009

Meaningful Deepavali
WHEEL POWERBy ANTHONY THANASAYAN

It’s good to ponder over life’s many blessings, no matter what our circumstance.

THE recent Festival of Lights celebrations touched many hearts and lives. This was especially so for members of the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor.

R. Murugan. 35, has come a long way since he first stayed at the centre seven years ago.

Stricken with polio at the age of two, Murugan recalls what a struggle it was for him to grow up as a physically disabled person in his hometown in Port Dickson. He never went to school and could not afford a wheelchair.

Fortunately, he found an able-bodied woman who loved him and married him. The couple were struggling to make ends meet when they heard about ILTC and decided to make a trip to Rawang.

“We gave Murugan and his family some of the provisions donated to our centre,” said Francis Siva, 50, president of ILTC. “Later we helped him find a low-cost flat and got him a wheelchair.”
Murugan started a titbits stall to support his family. But because he did not apply for a licence, he soon found himself in trouble with the law when the local council raided his outfit.

But after dialogues with the council – together with the intervention of ILTC – Majlis Perbandaran Selayang built a special stall for him to continue his business.

Murugan is proud of his stall. “Although life is a constant struggle, I am able to send my kids to school and put food on the table, and that’s what matters,” he said.

K. Letchumy, 24, is one of the most talkative members at ILTC. However, she was never like that until she came to the centre six years ago.

Born with cerebral palsy, Letchumy spent her days alone in the family flat in Shah Alam, Selangor, when her mother went off to work in a factory and her siblings went to school.
One day, the family heard about ILTC on a radio programme, and contacted the centre.

Today, Letchumy is a different person. She not only helps to take calls at the centre but also cooks, sews and motivates newly disabled persons who visit the centre.

For the first time, Letchumy was able to bring home gifts for her family for Deepavali, through her hard-earned money, working at the centre.

S. Bathmawathy, 26, from Taman Bukit Rawang became paralysed after a surgery.

The single mother whose husband abandoned her after her paralysis, failed in her efforts to seek medical attention locally.

After seeing an orthopaedic specialist in India recommended by ILTC, she was referred to a specialist in Malaysia who performed surgery on her.

Miraculously, Bathmawathy could walk again after the surgery. She says she will never forget the support she got from ILTC during her difficult times. Bathmawathy, who is looking for a job, makes it a point to drop by the centre regularly to encourage other members.

She spent her Deepavali with her mum, recalling all the good things they were thankful for in life.

With the national budget around the corner, Francis says it is his Deepavali wish that the government will come up with an allocation of RM500 a month for all disabled persons in the country.

The ILTC is having a Charity Muhibbah Cultural Show on Nov 1 at the KLCC Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur to raise funds for a new training centre in Rawang. Tickets for the musical performance from India are priced at RM50 and RM100.

For details, please call 019-338 5959 (Francis) or 012-695 6786 (Rina).