Tuesday April 10, 2012

More disabled-friendly facilities needed

KOTA KINABALU: A recent nationwide audit conducted by the International Islamic University Malaysia on public amenities found that only a quarter of the facilities met the standards required for handicapped people.

Deputy Dean (Postgraduate, Research and Development) Prof Dr Asiah Abdul Rahim said the university conducted 16 case studies throughout the country and found only four with the required standards.

The facilities for the handicapped in the other cases were found to be below par, she told reporters after opening a workshop on Universal Design in Building Environment at the Kota Kinabalu City Hall.

“We hope all local councils and authorities will give priority to disabled-friendly facilities in their development plans,” she said.

The audit, conducted together with the Department of Standards Malaysia, covered such places as the Malacca Museum and the waterfronts in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Danga Bay Johor and Kuantan.

The audit team also studied the facilities at Berjaya Times Square, the Bukit Bintang pedestrian walk, the Penang and Bandar Tasik Selatan train terminals, a housing estate in Seremban and Persiaran Perdana Putrajaya.

She said the study not only looked at the basic infrastructure available but also the access to government services for handicapped people.

10 April 2012 

Toilets for disabled outdated and abused

KUALA LUMPUR: The public toilets for the disabled are built according to the standards set by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim) -- which are outdated.

"Sirim did not involve a wide group of the disabled therefore they couldn't fully understand our different needs," said Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive) president Anthony Thanasayan.

He explained that a person on crutches does not need as much space as a person on a wheelchair or a blind person does.

Although they are able to use the normal toilets, they still need Braille signs to know where the toilet papers and water taps are.

The Petaling Jaya Municipal Council has drafted a guideline to give better public toilet service to the disabled community.

Anthony was also disappointed at how the able-bodied  abused the toilets for the disabled by turning them into smoking and storage rooms.

"There are even shoe prints on the toilet seats. How can that possibly be made by a disabled person?" he said.