Malaysiakini's report on our visit to MRT. - 24-12-2016
Several activists for the rights of the disabled have given the thumbs down on the accessibility for facilities in the newly-opened Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.
NGO Petpositive’s president Anthony Thanasayan said that while the MRT facilities for disabled people were slightly better compared to other rail facilities in the Klang Valley, the situation was still a disappointment.
Overall, he said, he would rate MRT 70 out of 100 points and added it was not good enough to worth his trouble to use it in its current state.
“I thought that after all the talks and sessions that we have had, and the awareness we have created over the past five, 10, even 15 or 20 years, they wouldn’t be struggling with basic issues like this.
“It clearly shows that they didn’t do their homework. That stands out very strongly. They just thought that if they followed something from a book, they would be okay.
“By right, they should have called many people to come out here to test out the facilities and be willing to make changes where necessary,” Anthony told Malaysiakini on Wednesday.
Earlier that day, he and Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia (ILTC) president G Francis Siva and ILTC secretary Gurdip Kaur took a ride from the Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) MRT station to Sungai Buloh and back, and made a brief stop at the Kota Damansara station.
They were testing to see whether the stations and the MRT trains were accessible to people with physical disabilities...
A Malaysiakini team which accompanied them was barred by
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd staff from taking any video recording and photograph on
grounds that the journalists had not applied for permission from the MRT
operator.
The disability rights activists met with difficulties from
the moment they arrived at the TTDI station. The two parking spaces reserved
for disabled people were occupied by three cars, none of which displayed a
disability parking permit.
A similar situation was found when the group arrived at the
Sungai Buloh station - there were 10 parking spaces reserved for people with
disabilities but the spots were taken up by 16 cars.
Again, none of the cars had a disability parking permit.
Instead, one of the cars carried a plaque purporting the owner to be the holder
of the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang, which carries the ‘Datuk’ title.
Anthony railed against the lack of enforcement at the
parking lot and asked why the station staff were more preoccupied with telling
off the media personnel instead of addressing their complaints about the
disabled parking space.
“They may have policies (about media coverage), but here we
are - disabled people are being abused at the car park. They are not interested
in us.
“They seemed to be more interested in their public image,”
he lamented.
Anthony, a former Petaling Jaya City (MPPJ) councillor, had
previously chaired a MPPJ team which conducts accessibility audits.
Mind the gap
During the group’s visit, some of the issues highlighted
include the lack of audio cues in the station’s lifts, although tactile
pavement outside the lifts guide the visually impaired to the lifts instead of
the escalators.
In addition, some gates at the station platform feature a
blue wheelchair logo. However, the location of these gates does not correspond
with where the trains’ wheelchair areas are located.
Meanwhile, Francis took issue with the sizable gap between
the station platform and the train, which he said is dangerous for wheelchair
users.
“Overall, I’m so excited to see the MRT but it still needs
to be improved,” he said.
As for Gurdip, who expressed disappointment with her
experience with MRT, said the staff apparently lacked training in handling the
needs of people with disabilities.
The castor wheel of her wheelchair fell through the gap
between the station and the platform as a station staff was helping her to
alight the train at the Kota Damansara station.
“Why don’t they train the staff to bring disabled people out
by turning them (wheelchairs) around and coming out (backwards)?
“That’s very important. We don’t want to have a second
injury in our lives,” Gurdip said.
The rear wheels of most wheelchairs are significantly larger
than the front wheels, making it less likely to fall through gaps.
Malaysiakini has contacted Prasarana on the group’s feedback
on Wednesday and is awaiting a response.
The Phase One of the MRT line opened on Dec 16, running from
Sungai Buloh to Semantan. The rest of the line, to Kajang, is expected to open
in July next year.
Rides on the MRT are free until Jan 16 next year.
Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/367125#ixzz4Tj2z19gN
