NEW MINISTER FOR WELFARE MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

NEW MINISTER FOR WELFARE MINISTER OF MALAYSIA
Badan Latihan dan Hidup Berdikari Malaysia (ILTC) pada 23hb Mac 2016 menyerahkan memorandum kepada ahli-ahli parlimen mendesak supaya golongan orang kurang upaya (OKU) dikecualikan daripada cukai barangan dan perkhidmatan (GST).

Disabled Members Protest

Disabled Members Protest
Disabled Members Protest at JPJ Wangsa Maju

ILTC Malaysia members staged a protest outside JPJ Wangsamaju KL.

ILTC Malaysia members staged a protest outside JPJ Wangsamaju KL.
Disabled group’s protest disabled drivers required to produce doc's medical report.

Friday, 18 June 2010

Sinar: OKU guna kemudahan bas transit

Today's Sinar


Friday June 18, 2010

Towards disabled-friendly buildings in PJ
By TAN KARR WEI
karrwei@thestar.com.my

THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) hopes to set up a team to look into enforcement of guidelines for disabled-friendly buildings.

MBPJ secretary Puasa Md Taib said now there was only one officer in charge of the guidelines for barrier-free buildings while developed countries had a whole department to handle these matters.

“We’re looking into having a team with at least five officers, including those from the other departments like engineering, building control, landscaping and also councillors,” said Puasa after launching the two-day Section 13 Barrier-Free City workshop at the PJ Live Arts Centre in Jaya One.

He said having a team would ease the implementation of a pilot project in Section 13 for a barrier-free city.
At the launch: Puasa (second from left) flanked by MBPJ councillors Richard Yeoh, Puasa and Anthony Thanasayan with Sharipah and Living and Training Centre (ILTC) president Francis Siva.

“Many of the older places like Section 52 have been upgraded with disabled -friendly facilities but they are not inter-connected.

“We choose Section 13 because it has just been gazetted as a commercial area and we can put the responsibility on landowners to come up with buildings that are barrier-free and interlinked with the other structures,” Puasa said.

Puasa said the council would not issue a Certificate of Fitness (CF) to landowners who did not comply with the barrier-free guidelines.

“I hope to see Section 13 as a place with all the disabled-friendly facilities in place,” he said.

He added that the council would also be pushing for developers to follow the Green Building Index when planning their developments.

MBPJ town planning director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali said MBPJ also had plans to install mobile ramps on staircases at MBPJ buildings and parks.

Thursday, 17 June 2010

MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme

Recently, we have invited to participate in a community program - MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme” targeted at the poor, disabled, and elderly.

Much to my surprise, good response from the disabled community and others by the way they wanted to participated.

“ They Came, they Saw…they Participated! ” ...

Joyous news

Thursday June 17, 2010

Joyous news

LAST Saturday, MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme” targeted at the poor, disabled, and elderly.

The event was held at a popular market next to the Jumhuriyah mosque in Taman Dato Harun. The VIP for the day, Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohd Talha, arrived long before the people did.

About 150 people turned up. Talking to some of them later, I found out how excited they were about the special project. The disabled and the elderly were thrilled to learn about MBPJ’s wheelchair-friendly vans. They had no idea that the vehicles existed or that the handicapped could request for them free-of-charge.

“Thank God I don’t need to put up with cabbies who always complain when I have to take my invalid mother to the hospital,” said a female resident. “Cabbies not only make a fuss about wheelchairs but they also refuse to help me put it in the booth,” she explained, adding that with the special van and its hydraulic lift, her mother could easily be lifted into the vehicle without any problem.

I was reminded of the time I visited a 70-year-old man in a low-cost flat some weeks ago. A heart operation had left him semi-paralysed. He lay in bed all day while his elderly wife sold titbits outside their flat to make ends meet. He had trouble going to the toilet which was not designed for the handicapped. He had no wheelchair even though he had approached various charities for help.

I met another elderly woman with a similar predicament. A diabetic, she was unable to walk because of the wounds on her heels.

Fortunately for me, my fellow councillor Tang Fuie Koh offered to donate wheelchairs to the senior citizens.The wheelchairs were rushed to them. The reception we got when we arrived at their homes was heart-warming.

The elderly gentleman dropped what he was doing and got into the wheelchair. He was so excited and smiled non-stop.

The elderly lady was so happy that she burst into tears of joy. I heard later that she got out of her tiny apartment every now and then to enjoy some sun and fresh air.

Even though we received the sad news of her passing recently, we will never forget how a wheelchair made her last days so joyous. We realised how a simple act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life.

One of MBPJ’s projects is to fix the bathrooms of disabled and elderly persons, for free, if they are not wheelchair-friendly.

The day ended with the MBPJ team headed by Puan Sharipah Marhaini, head of planning, making a quick visit to the mosque next door.

We were pleased to find proper ramps in the building. However, there were no disabled-friendly toilets. We decided to install one each for the ladies and the gentlemen so that they can fulfil their religious obligations in greater comfort. We also identified a suitable parking spot for the handicapped. This will be constructed with an overhead shelter to protect users from the harsh elements.

Indeed, there were plenty of reasons that day for everyone to beam from ear to ear. From the looks of it, they will keep on smiling as the local council continues to push forward in its new vision for Petaling Jaya.

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

A thought for senior citizens and the disabled

Friday June 11, 2010

A thought for senior citizens and the disabled

SENIOR citizens and disabled persons can expect more efforts by the Government to increase job opportunities for them.

For the former, the Government will continue its 100% tax rebate on costs to retrain older persons to encourage greater employment opportunities.

This is in line with the projected increase of those aged above 60 from two million in 2009 to 3.4 million by 2020.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), the database on employment opportunities for older persons under Jobs Malaysia would be promoted more actively. Jobs Malaysia is an automated online job matching system provided by the Human Resources Ministry, launched on May 30 2002.

While day care centres for senior citizens, established in partnership with NGOs, would be expanded, access to healthcare would also continue to be improved through provision of free transport to hospitals and clinics by the Social Welfare Department.

As for the disabled, the Government will actively pursue its target of getting them 1% of the jobs in the civil service.

Existing programmes such as Job Coach would be broadened to assist the disabled in seeking and retaining positions in open employment through ICT programmes such as an electronic labour exchange system operated by the Labour Department.

Retired teacher Doreen Chan lauded the move to promote the employment of senior citizens.

“If given the opportunity, I don’t mind offering my services to the Government again as long as it is within my field,” said a 63-year-old who taught English at a primary school in Kuala Lumpur.

Responding to the initiatives for the disabled, Petpositive president Anthony Thanasayan welcomed the targeted 1% disabled employment in the civil service.

“However, this target will not be reached unless office buildings are made disabled-friendly.”

Metta Hermitage Meditation Society Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Wilayah Persekutuan celebrated Vesak Day at Metta Forest Hermitage, Batu Arang, Selangor.

Last 28th May 2010 - Metta Hermitage Meditation Society Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Wilayah Persekutuan celebrated Vesak Day 2010 at Metta Forest Hermitage, Batu Arang, Selangor. The members from ILTC wishes many many thanks to Guru and Members of the Metta Hermitage and well wishers who generously donated towards ILTC for the Wesak 2010 celebrations.

Wesak Day 2010 Guruji giving his Wesak Day speech

Support for the needy
Vegetarian lunch

Dr. Choong opening the Mugalin Zendo Court


See more photos from Wesak Day 2010

Civil service lagging in employing the disabled

Tuesday June 15, 2010

Civil service lagging in employing the disabled

IPOH: Only six agencies have complied with a circular which stipulates that government agencies need to allocate 1% of its total workforce for the disabled.

Development of Persons with Dis-abilities department director Noraini Hashim said 581 disabled people had joined the civil service since the circular was issued in 2008.

Of these, 97 were employed by welfare departments in various states.

“There are various reasons why the agencies could not fulfil the 1% quota. One is that the type of job applied for by the disabled person did not meet the agency’s requirements,” she said after opening a seminar on building and public infrastructure for disabled persons.

There were also cases where the agencies felt the disabled person was not competent for the jobs.

State Economic Planning Unit director Datuk Abu Bakar Said, who represented Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, opened the one-day seminar.

Urging government department heads to take heed of the abilities of the disabled, Noraini said the department hoped 90% of the agencies would fill the 1% quota by 2012.

“It may be a tall order but we will work aggressively towards that,” she added.

Noraini said the private sector fared better when dealing with disabled people with over 17,000 having been employed.

To help mediate between disabled persons and prospective employers, the department has established a job coaching system.

“We hope to have a job coach for each state in the country,” she said, adding that five coaches were currently undergoing training in Japan.

PJ Mosque To Become Disabled-Friendly

Story courtesy by Petpositive

Monday, June 14, 2010


PJ Mosque To Become Disabled-Friendly
DATELINE MASJID JUMHURIYAH, TAMAN DATO HARUN:
Worshippers with disabilities as well as the elderly at the well-known mosque here will soon be able to fulfill their religious obligations with greater comfort.

The good news was revealed last Saturday. This was after a team of experts from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) visited the house of worship for Muslims to check on its disabled-friendly facilities.

The access-audit began from the point worshippers approached the building to how they would go inside.

Thanasayan thrilled by ramp at the front of the mosque
The group was led by the director of planning Puan Sharipah Marhaini and councillor Anthony SB Thanasayan.

"Although the present ramp into the mosque isn't a hundred percent perfect, most people will still be able to use it without much difficulty," observed a pleased Thanasayan after he and the team spent about 45 minutes assessing the building.
"I'm absolutely thrilled that the ramp was built at the main entrance of the mosque and not hidden away at the back as this adds on to the dignity of the disabled and elderly whose entrances must always be in front of the building," added Thanasayan who also serves as chairman of the disability expert team in the local council. Puan Sharipah tackled the carpark area to the mosque.

Assisted by Mr Francis Siva, a tetraplegic, from the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor who also sits in MBPJ's disability expert team, the director of planning managed to identify a suitable spot at the entrance of the mosque's compound to place the handicapped parking.

"Users with special needs will be protected from the elements to make life easier for them" - Sharipah

The promised to get it duly covered too, so as to protect users from the harsh elements such as the sun and rain.

However, the major addition to the mosque that day would be a handicapped-friendly restroom each for men and women.

"Instead of subjecting our target groups to share a toilet, a separate toilet for both sexes would further add to the dignity of the person," said Dr Melasutra Md Dali who is the councillor- in-charge of the area. Also present with her were fellow MBPJ councillors Encik Halimey Bin Abu Bakar from Zone 24 and R Selvarajan from Zone 14.

The visit to the mosque was part of a major outreach event by MBPJ last week to reach out to the poor, disabled and the elderly in Petaling Jaya.

It was initiated by the State Assemblyman for Taman Medan Haniza Mohd Talha.

The first-time effort will see MBPJ literally knocking on the doors of the poorest houses in PJ in an attempt to reach out to the most unfortunate communities.

The effort has drawn lots of praises from many quarters.

Note: Pictures courtesy from ILTC.