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.

Saturday 26 March 2011

New by-laws to be drafted to prevent abuse of facilities meant for the disabled


Saturday March 26, 2011

New by-laws to be drafted to prevent abuse of facilities meant for the disabled

By TEH ENG HOCK
enghock@thestar.com.my

Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu said the new by-law would be drafted for the 12 local authorities in the state to prevent people from using facilities designated for the disabled.

“The summons should also be extended to places such as shopping malls, where the toilets for the disabled are being used as store rooms,” he said at a press conference to announce the setting up of technical committees on facilities for the disabled at state and local council levels.

Liu was surprised when Malay Disabled Society representative Suhairi Abdullah told him that while it was good to have more facilities for the disabled, it was pointless if there was no enforcement.

“There are all these facilities but people are using it.

“I live in Ampang and many times I have complained to council officers or the police about people parking in the bays for the disabled but they say they cannot issue a summons,” said Suhairi.

Liu immediately responded that something had to be done and said it would take at least three months to pass the new by-law empowering the local authorities to issue summonses.

He said workshops would have to be held to determine the mechanism and the amount for the fine, before it could be forwarded to the state executive council for approval.

“We can have a uniformed by-law for the whole state. The whole process will take at least three months.

“It is only March now, so we have to get it done by this year,” he added.

On the setting up of technical committees for the disabled, Liu said this would ensure the disabled community had a say in the planning and development of disabled-friendly facilities.

“It is not that a person is not sensitive to the needs of the disabled but sometimes it does not cross his mind.

“And it is then too late when the structure is up and found to be not suitable for the disabled,” he said.

Liu said the committees would have representatives from the disabled community.

The committees at the local authority-level will be set up one at a time, with all councils to have them by the year-end.

At the moment, only the Petaling Jaya City Council has a technical committee on disabled facilities.

Friday 25 March 2011

Gifts For The Disabled

Gifts For The Disabled

Selangor State Local Government Committee chairman Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew officially appointed The Selangor State Level Disability Committees on today. Finally we’re able to see some positive changes happening for us in the state.

He said that, these Committee will have to actively include and work with people with disabilities with all types of categories at least once a month.

All 12 local councils in Selangor have been ordered to set up disability committees within few months as part of the state government's plan to improve the quality of lives of disabled Malaysians in towns and cities.

The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), however, has been exempted from the ruling as they already have a very active disability committee going within its council since the Pakatan government was formed in 2008.

All the 11 other councils will have to set up their committees by soon.

On Monday, March 28, 2011 we (Selangor State Level Disability Committees) will be having a special follow up meeting at the headquarters of the Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) in Bandar Baru Selayang, Selangor.



Thursday 24 March 2011

Up the garden path

Thursday March 24, 2011

Up the garden path

At last, a forest reserve with disabled-friendly facilities.

TRAVELLINGnin cyberspace and making new friends on Facebook and Twitter is wonderfully convenient for people who use wheelchairs and walking sticks.

But I must admit that when it comes to getting out and actually being on the ground, there is simply no comparison to the real fun and excitement that Mother Nature can bring into your life. About 150 persons – including people in wheelchairs and the elderly – pleasantly discovered so last Saturday when we turned up at Kota Daman­sara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Community gem: The LA21 Herbal Garden initiated by Friends of Kota Damansara, Selangor, is purposefully inclusive of the disabled, the elderly, women and children.

We were there to witness the official launching of Kota Daman­sara’s LA21 Herbal Garden by the mayor of Petaling Jaya. The herbal garden isn’t the only unique feature that one can find at the Kota Daman­sara Community Forest Reserve (KDCFR).

Visitors to the area will also be able to find people-friendly facilities, such as wheelchair ramps that are also suited for mothers with prams and the elderly.

“We had to think carefully before we came out with strategic spots in the half acre area in which we decided to place the disabled-friendly facilities,” said local conservationist Jeffrey Phang.

Phang, who has been actively involved in the forest for nearly a decade, pointed out that the facilities included a wheelchair pathway, handicapped-friendly toilet that was also geared towards elderly persons, and an outdoor barbeque stand that was at the height level of wheelchairs.

Phang, an assistant professor at University Tunku Abdul Rahman in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, added that ideas are in the pipeline to bring disabled communities inside the forest instead of just remaining at its fringes.

“The idea to integrate all communities of people instead of only selected groups was brought up at the historic Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.

“It was there that the local agenda concept of getting governments, businesses and communities to work together from a more holistic approach rather than a parochial perspective in developing liveable cities and towns, was born,” said Phang.

“In other words, LA21 challenged us to be more inclusive of all persons in creating structures that provide solutions for everyone, instead of just some people.

“We have to build our cities to be more conscious of safety, more caring about the environment and more inclusive of the disabled, elderly, women and children,” said Phang, who was a key organiser of the launch together with the Petaling Jaya City Council and the Selangor Forestry Department.

Besides the disabled, other parti-cipants included the elderly, boys and girls, and business groups.

Among the two new groups of stakeholders present were residents from low-cost flats and representatives from nearby primary and secondary schools.

After the speeches, the dozen or more disabled and elderly participants couldn’t wait to test the facilities.

We were delighted that a special ramp was designed to take wheelchairs and prams right down to the herbal garden area.

The wheelchair users pointed out areas where the ramp was rather steep and needed to be levelled further. All these points were noted as their participation was also meant to provide user-friendly feedback.

Many of the handicapped visitors were thrilled that the people behind the reserve had taken the trouble to install disabled-friendly facilities, compared to other parks that hardly have any wheelchair accessibility.

“Because we at the KDCFR are a community forest, we felt that we should set an example to other parks and forests in the country, so that every stakeholder and their needs will be considered,” said Phang who is also chairman of the Friends of Kota Damansara group.

“Our next plan is to get wheelchair-users as close as possible to the lake where they will be able to dip their feet in the water, if they wish.”

Phang pointed out that a perfect location had been identified for the disabled to do this.

“Some environmentalists may frown at the idea of having some alterations in the forest and feel that nothing at all should be disturbed,” said Phang.

“However, to view things this way is rather inward-looking. Whilst the deeper areas of the forest can be left untouched, we should seriously consider making some parts of the forest accessible to those who otherwise may never be able to appreciate its benefits.

“The goal is to include people with their differences and diversities. In this way, environmentalists will be able to garner more support for their clarion call to save our forests,” Phang added.