KEY DISABLED ACTIVISTS SIDELINED FROM NATIONAL HANDICAPPED CONFERENCE

2010/03/03

Better facilities in store for disabled

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in New York next month, paving the way for better facilities for the disabled. With the ratification, the Federal capital is duty-bound to implement principles in the convention such as inclusion in society, equal opportunities and accessibility for the disabled.

Articles in the convention, for instance, include the right for disabled persons to use suitable voting equipment in elections and the right to disabled-friendly public transport.

"After ratification, annual reports must be submitted to the UN, so there is an obligation for us to show how serious we are in fulfilling the terms of the convention," said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Her ministry's priority areas for the year will be accessibility and employment for the disabled. Beginning with Malacca, Pahang, Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur, the ministry will be working closely with local councils and state government agencies.

Shahrizat called on Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) to set state local authorities a good example by making the capital barrier-free.

"Existing guidelines under the Uniform Buildings bylaws are already disabled-friendly, but the enforcement of the standards is poor.

"I'd like to ask DBKL not to approve building plans which don't comply with such guidelines so that it would be a start towards complying with the convention," she told reporters at the National Conference on Accessibility and Universal Design.

2012 target for special facilities

2012 target for special facilities
2010/03/02

By Lydia Gomez

KUALA LUMPUR: By 2012, all public buses and buildings in the country have to be disabled-friendly.
This is the target set by the Department of Social Welfare to elevate the disabled community and help them become more mobile.

Disabled Persons Development Department director Noraini Mohd Hashim has set the deadline for a plan she describes as a "short-term target" so that infrastructure for the disabled is in place by 2020.

"We have a lot of work to do. Thailand and Singapore are already ahead of us, so we, too, need to move faster," Noraini said as she revealed the department's goals for the disabled at the National Conference on Accessibility and Universal Design for the disabled yesterday.

Top on her list is to get the cooperation of public transport service providers.

"The department cannot work alone. We (non-governmental organisations and local authorities) have to join forces and work collectively. Together, we can come up with a barrier-free environment for all," she said.

Statistics from last November showed there are 277,509 disabled people registered with the department.

The figure, however, may be fewer than the actual number since it is not compulsory for the disabled to register with the department.

Noraini said the department did not make it mandatory for the disabled to register.

"It is their right to register but we do not want to make it compulsory. We just encourage them (to register)."

Among the benefits those registered would get are financial assistance of RM300 a month for those earning below RM1,200, a RM150 monthly allowance for the unemployed and a launching grant of RM2,700 for those who want to start a business.

The government also provides help to those who want to buy prosthetics.

She said the disabled included the aged as they face similar problems.

'Local councils must do all they can'

'Local councils must do all they can'
2010/03/02

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has a long way to go to catch up with Thailand and Singapore in becoming disabled-friendly.
Full attention has yet to be given to the disabled, with many still having trouble parking their vehicles in buildings or travelling freely, unlike in neighbouring countries.

Despite being a signatory to the United Nations Convention for the Rights of People with Disability in 2008, Malaysia has little to show for the points made at the convention.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said Malaysia would ratify the convention soon.

By ratifying it, Malaysia would be duty-bound to comply with convention provisions.

Chew said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil would make an announcement on the matter soon.

For the time being, she said the onus was on the local councils to make sure that the disabled had a "barrier-free environment".

"Most important are the local authorities. Although the government has good laws and bylaws, the lack of enforcement on the ground, especially by local authorities, makes it difficult for us to achieve the target.

"I'd like to suggest that the Department of Standards or those involved possibly set up a lobby group to push the authorities."

Chew also said district officers, as well as town and city planners, could introduce laws to help the disabled.

"If we manage to educate them and inculcate the culture of being considerate towards the disabled, then it will be easier for us to make things happen," she said after opening the National Conference on Accessibility and Universal Design: Implications for Public Transport and the Built Environment yesterday.

At present, she said there was no law to make it compulsory for buildings to be disabled-friendly.

"I'd urge companies to cooperate with us by renovating their buildings to create a barrier-free environment, especially shopping complexes, office blocks and business centres."

The conference was organised by the ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNDP resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Kamal Malhotra, said Malaysia had done well by endorsing the People with Disabilities Act 2008.

However, he said, Kuala Lumpur needed to take a more proactive step to ratify the convention.

So far, 144 countries have signed up while 80 have ratified it.

"Signing it is the first step. But there is some distance to go. Legislation itself is not enough. Hopefully, in a year, especially once the convention is ratified, Malaysia will be much closer to the different aspects of the convention."

Standard rules for pets soon

Wednesday March 3, 2010

Standard rules for pets soon

By THO XIN YI

All 12 local councils in Selangor will soon have a standard set of guidelines for keeping pets.

Selangor state health, estate worker’s affairs, poverty eradication and caring government committee chairman Dr Xavier Jeyakumar said the current guidelines for each council differed to some extent.New rules: The workshop was not focused only on dogs but discussed ways to deal with other animals as well.

For example, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) charges RM10 per year for a dog licence while the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) charges RM15).

Dog owners in Shah Alam, on the other hand, pay RM10 for the licence while retirees pay RM5. It is free of charge for the disabled.

“We are getting all the relevant authorities involved together to try and streamline the regulations, with consideration given to the sensitivities in different areas,” he said.

A workshop was held at the MPSJ yesterday to get input from council officers and NGOs on pet-related problems.

The discussions at the Effective Handling of Abandoned Animals and Pet Keeping in Selangor Workshop were not restricted to dogs only but encompassed all animals.

“For example, there were complaints about the monkey menace in certain housing areas.

“The NGOs are against shooting the animals but the question of who is responsible to catch and pay the bills needs to be addressed,” Dr Xavier said.

MPSJ secretary Slamat Hamzah said there were always different voices coming from the animal lovers in the NGOs and the public when it came to problems created by pets and stray animals.

Petaling Jaya city councillor Anthony Thanasayan, who also chairs the MBPJ Canine Advisory Team, added: “While the NGOs want to save the animals, the local councils are trying to create a safe environment for the people to live in.”

He said he initiated the workshop to share CAT’s experiences with the other councils.

A working paper would be prepared following this workshop and would be forwarded to the state government and the Selangor Economy Action Council (MTES).

On the plan of having a modern pound in Selangor, Dr Xavier said the Sepang Municipal Council (MPSp) would be given land measuring between 1.2ha and 2ha for the pound.

He added that the authorities had checked on the pounds administered by the Klang and Selayang Municipal Councils, which had drawn criticisms from NGOs.

The pounds have been cleaned and veterinary department officers were called in to treat the sick animals.

On the dengue outbreak that has claimed the lives of six people in Selangor in January, Dr Xavier said there was a slight decrease in the number of cases.

“This is a good sign but we still have to be on guard. The people have to play their part by keeping their compounds clean and free of mosquito-breeding grounds,” he said.

KL bakal peneraju bandar raya mesra OKU: Shahrizat

Rabu 3-3-2010

KL bakal peneraju bandar raya mesra OKU: Shahrizat

KUALA LUMPUR - Kuala Lumpur bakal menjadi peneraju dalam program pembangunan mesra Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) di negara ini melalui penguatkuasaan dan penyelarasan garis panduan standard pembinaan infrastruktur.

Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM), Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil berkata, beliau akan membentangkan satu memorandum mengenai cadangan itu kepada Kabinet dalam masa terdekat bagi membolehkan pembangunan Kuala Lumpur diteladani tempat lain.

Bagi menjayakan usaha itu, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), perlu menjadi perintis kepada usaha itu supaya Kuala Lumpur dapat menyediakan prasarana yang mesra OKU.

“Apabila ada tunjuk ajar DBKL, standard bangunan akan diikuti oleh pihak lain, kita bukan sebuah negara yang mesra OKU sebagaimana yang diamalkan oleh negara-negara lain berbanding Malaysia,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas menutup persidangan mengenai kemudahan dan rekaan universal bagi pengangkutan awam dan bangunan di sini, semalam.

Beliau berkata, antara faktor yang menyekat pembangunan mesra OKU pada masa kini ialah wujudnya kelemahan dalam penguatkuasaan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) dan ketiadaan garis panduan dalam pembinaan infrastruktur mesra OKU.

Selain itu, katanya, tidak terdapat dasar yang selaras dan jelas mengenai piawaian yang diperlukan dalam pembinaan infrastruktur yang mesra OKU sehingga menyukarkan pemilik bangunan menyediakan kemudahan bagi golongan itu.

“Semua pihak, bukan sahaja kerajaan persekutuan, malah kerajaan negeri termasuk ahli politik, perlu menyediakan perancangan bandar yang teratur dan menyediakan arkitek yang dapat melakar pembinaan infrastruktur yang sesuai untuk kegunaan OKU,” katanya.

Shahrizat berkata, kementeriannya telah memulakan langkah untuk merealisasikan Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) oleh Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNCRPD) seperti termaktub dalam Akta OKU 2008 dengan

memberi keutamaan kepada dua isu OKU iaitu kebolehcapaian dan peluang pekerjaan.

Menurutnya, PBT juga perlu menubuhkan satu unit khas untuk memantau isu-isu berkaitan OKU dan disarankan agar OKU diambil sebagai tenaga pekerja. - Bernama

Achievers Recognition Dinner, PGRM , Kuala Lumpur

Achievers Recognition Dinner, PGRM, Kuala Lumpur, 25th February 2010

FusionExcel's Achievers Recognition Dinner at PGRM, Kuala Lumpur, on 25th February 2010 was a GREAT SUCCESS attended by 1,300 FusionExcel Leaders.

The dinner event coincided with the Chinese New Year and FusionExcel celebrated it by having a special "Yee Sang" dish for all.

FusionExcel is proud to host 100 old folks and children from charity organisation Persatuan Budi Penyayang, Daerah Bentong, Pahang and Independent Living & Training Centre (ILTC) Rawang. FusionExcel also donated Ang Pows.

Good news for those who are disabled due to occupational injuries

Good news for those who are disabled due to occupational injuries.The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has been shown that the government is concerned for people with disability as citizens of Malaysia with full rights and dignity for those with families and dependants.

Socso windfall for 206,000 next month

Tuesday March 2, 2010

Socso windfall for 206,000 next month

By A. LETCHUMANAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 206,585 recipients of Socso pensions are in for a windfall with the Government increasing monthly payments by between 0.6% and 11.3%.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said pensioners who received periodic payments awarded on or before Dec 31, 2007, would benefit from the pension increments.

“The increases will be backdated to Jan 1, 2008 and will be paid out to the pensioners from April. This is the first time such a big increase has been approved in Socso’s history,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said those who were awarded pensions before 2003 would receive an increment of 10.2%, while those awarded pensions in 2003 would get 11.3%, 2004 (9.6%), 2005 (6.3%), 2006 (2.6%) and 2007 (0.6%).

He said the adjustment in the Socso pension rates under the Employment Injury insurance scheme and the Invalidity Pension scheme were made to accommodate the increase in the cost of living by taking into account the consumer price index.

“The additional financial implications for the new pension rates include the permanent disability benefit, dependent’s benefit, invalidity pension and survivor’s pension estimated at RM66.4mil per year,” Dr Subramaniam said.

He said the adjustments in the pension payments from Jan 1, 2008 to March 31, 2010 totalled RM142.4mil in arrears.

He said Socso would undertake regular studies to ensure that the recipients would be able to survive economically despite the rising cost of living.

Dr Subramaniam said Socso would continue to play an active role in looking after the welfare of their contributors through the Employ­ment Injury Insurance Scheme and the Invalidity Pension Scheme.

Earlier, he presented benefits and rehabilitation equipment totalling RM365,000 to 25 recipients.

A New Disability Committee To Be Set Up in Majlis Perbandaran Selayang Very Soon

A New Disability Committee To Be Set Up in Majlis Perbandaran Selayang Very Soon
A group of disabled persons from the Klang Valley got together to push for a representation in a local council on the 17th of last month.

Members of the self-help organisation the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor, and the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or PETPOSITIVE in Kuala Lumpur made their way to the headquarters of the Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) to demand an equal right to being heard in the local government.

They were met by several key officials from the planning, engineering and building departments.

The two sides had more than two hours of deliberation that ended up on a very positive note.

The MPS agreed to set up a technical council on disability within a month of that meeting.

Names of disabled people and their organisations will be identified within the next 30 days and invited to the first meeting.

This special occasion will be held sometime in March.

Before the historic gathering, MPS will conduct an access survey of their own headquarters to check how handicapped-friendly their building is to its visitors.

These will be evaluated by a team of disability experts from the new committee.

The exercise which is scheduled to take place this Wednesday will give everyone an idea of what kind of challenges that are before them, as well as to how to plan out their immediate goals.

These will include checking the town for wheelchair-friendly facilities to organising social and awareness-raising activities on the handicapped.

The special committee is expected to sit at least once a month when it is established.

Persons with a variety of handicaps will also be invited to sit in the technical group.

Apart from the physically handicapped, they will also include the blind, Deaf and representatives of people with learning disabilities.

Commenting after the meeting Petpositive President Anthony SB Thanasayan said: "People with disabilities and the elderly within the municipality will be able to look forward to a brighter future from now on.

"They can rejoice in the fact that now - and only know - will their needs to be really looked into as the committee itself with NGOs in it will also serve as a monitoring group to check the progress of what's being done from time to time," he added.

As City Councillor for Petaling Jaya (MBPJ), Thanasayan, speaking to PET+BLOGSPOT said he would be happy to work along with other Selangor councils to bring about great access for Malaysians with disabilities in the state.

A preliminary similar effort was initiated by the then disabled local councillor Gurdip Kaur also known as Rina.

The meeting was also attended by Thanasayan and MBPJ's Planning Department Head Puan Sharipah Marhaini.

However, there was no follow-up to that initiative until last month's meeting.

"We are extremely pleased by the positive response that we got from the MPS," said a beaming Francis Siva, President of the ILTC.

"We just can't wait to see things moving positively from here on," he concluded.