Thursday June 9, 2011

Count us in

The disabled should be involved in decisions which affect their lives.

SOME good things are in store for people with disabilities in the country. For many of us who have to put up with society’s lack of concern for the basic needs of the handicapped, we can now breathe a sigh of relief.

On Tuesday, more than half a dozen persons with disabilities – me included – met at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam, Selangor. We were there to hold our first meeting as a special team on a mission to help set up disability committees in all the local councils in Selangor.

We were following up on the directive by Ronnie Liu, chairman of the state’s local government, study and research committee, to get local councils to be proactive in looking into the needs of the disabled and the elderly.

Be friendly: Pavements should be constructed with the needs of the handicapped in mind.

It was strongly felt that unless persons with disabilities were actively involved, nothing much was going to happen in towns and cities, as far as their needs were concerned.

The all-important meeting included people with a variety of handicaps. There was a representative for the blind and the Deaf. Notice how I spell the word “Deaf” with a capital “D”? This is because Deaf persons, like many other disabled people, wish to have a unique identity of their own, rather than be seen as people with a medical problem.

There were also three representatives for the physically handicapped. One was paralysed from the chest down, another from the waist down, while the third person had walking difficulties.

Input from each of them is vital as not everyone who uses wheelchairs has the same needs.

One of the most forgotten groups are people with learning difficulties. A representative from a national society on dyslexia was also present. We plan to expand the group later on, to include people with other types of disabilities.

Feedback from all these groups will help to give us an accurate picture of their needs.

Called the Disabled Technical Committee of Selangor, our quest has so far taken us to three local councils: Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Selayang.

Selayang was the first to set up a committee; the other two are still working on it.

All the local councils received us warmly. As experts on disability through our own experiences, we want to offer all the help that we can to make our world a better place for the handicapped.

First, we set up a committee to look into the needs of the disabled. The committee meets monthly to ensure that the handicapped are not forgotten by the local councils.

Next, we provide feedback on the plans that the local councils have for us. After all, it is our lives and needs that they are talking about, and it is only right that we have a say in whatever affects us.

The committee also ensures that users of disabled-friendly facilities get to test them out first before they are launched by the local councils.

Sadly, very often we come across pathways with tactile flooring which may be friendly to the blind but totally disregard wheelchair-users and mothers with prams.

And it is not uncommon to come across toilets with a wheelchair logo on the door only to discover that the facility can only be used if you are able to get out of your wheelchair because the narrow doors are not wheelchair-friendly.

That is why the participation of the disabled is important in every local council, not just in Selangor, but throughout the country. It is not only the most sensible thing to do but it is also our right as disabled Malaysians.

As the slogan goes: “Nothing about us, without us!”