'Pua insensitive to the disabled’

G Vinod

| March 17, 2011

PJ City Hall councillor Anthony Thanasayan ticks off DAP rep for his remarks on a disabled trader's harassment claims.

PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, a vocal critic of government policies, found himself on the receiving end when he was taken to task by a councillor.

PJ City Hall’s Anthony Thanasayan called Pua a coward for attacking him when he spoke up for a disabled hawker who was harassed by several vendors at the Taman Megah market.

“This is exactly the problem with Pua. He refuses to see the discrimination against the disabled vendor as he does not have the sensitivity to deal with a human being,” said Thanasayan.

On Feb 22, frozen food vendor Cha Seak Nee sought PJ City Hall’s help when she was being harassed by several other vendors to move her stall to the back of the Taman Megah market.

Cha, who refused to be intimidated, stood her ground, saying that her current location was disable-friendly while the one she was told to move to was not.

She claimed that when she sought councillor Tiew Wey Keng’s help, she was chided. Unhappy, Cha filed an official complaint and is being investigated by PJ City Hall’s audit team

Pua told a daily yesterday that the matter had been blown out of proportion and defended Tiew as a woman of integrity.

He claimed Thanasayan, who came to the defence of the vendor, did not show up at the meeting with the market traders on March 8 nor sought a clarification from Tiew.

Dismissing Pua’s claims, Thanasayan said he did talk to Tiew about Cha’s problems but said that Tiew did not act on her complaint.

“That was when I informed Seputeh MP Teresa Kok about Cha’s predicament and she assured me Pua would look into the matter and would contact me, but he didn’t,” said Thanasayan.

“That’s when said Cha approached me for help, as Tiew had refused to look into her complaint” said Thanasayan.

“And that’s why she also filed a police report against Tiew. Feel free to investigate my allegations but you will be disappointed,” said Thanasayan.

On his absense at the meeting, Thanasayan said he was informed by PJ City Hall that it was unnecessary for him to attend.

“I was not even invited for the meeting in the first place. Pua could have told me to attend the meeting but he did not,” he said