Golongan sasar diberi perhatian

Rabu 23-6-2010

Golongan sasar diberi perhatian

PETALING JAYA SELATAN - Pejabat Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Taman Medan dengan kerjasama Jabatan Perancangan Pembangunan Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) akan mengadakan program bantuan berterusan kepada golongan miskin, orang kurang upaya (OKU) dan warga emas di Taman Medan.

ADUNnya, Haniza Mohd Talha berkata, bagi tujuan itu pihaknya dan MBPJ sebagai sebuah pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) yang proaktif akan mengadakan program pencarian golongan yang kurang berkemampuan di Taman Medan untuk dibantu.

Katanya, sebagai langkah awal program berkenaan akan mencari 100 golongan yang memerlukan bantuan di sekitar kawasan itu.

“Antara perkhidmatan yang diberikan ialah membantu penduduk yang rumahnya mengalami kerosakan seperti kebocoran, tidak kukuh, ataupun diserang serangga perosak seperti anai-anai.

“Selain itu, bantuan perkhidmatan van percuma untuk golongan OKU, terutamanya yang berkerusi roda akan ditawarkan,” katanya ketika ditemui selepas melancarkan Program Bantuan Kemudahan Penduduk Miskin, OKU dan Warga Emas di sini.

Hadir sama, Pengarah Perancang Bandar MBPJ, Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali.

Haniza yang juga Timbalan Speaker DUN berkata, kemudahan yang disediakan itu bagi memudahkan golongan sasar terbabit ke klinik, hospital ataupun ke destinasi yang memerlukan bantuan untuk dihantar.

Katanya, perkhidmatan bas percuma di dalam DUN Taman Medan juga akan disediakan untuk golongan miskin.

Bas itu katanya, mengikut laluan RapidKL dan dikhususkan penggunaannya untuk golongan yang miskin.

“Justeru, kami sangat mengharapkan dengan adanya program seumpama ini, golongan yang miskin tidak lagi terasa dipinggirkan oleh arus pembangunan bandar,” katanya.

Sementara itu, katanya, bagi memastikan tiada golongan memerlukan terlepas pandang, pihaknya berharap pemimpin masyarakat dan wakil penduduk bersama-sama mengenal pasti individu yang layak menerima bantuan mengikut kategori di kawasan masing-masing.

“Kita mahu membantu seberapa ramai golongan yang memerlukan bantuan, tetapi matlamat ini tidak akan tercapai jika pemimpin masyarakat atau wakil penduduk tidak membantu kita mengenal pasti mereka yang layak diberikan bantuan.

“Apa yang kita harapkan golongan ini benar-benar dapat memanfaatkan sumbangan yang diberikan,” katanya.

Monday June 21, 2010

MBPJ reaches out to poor
By YIP YOKE TENG

THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has embarked on a pro-active campaign to go door to door to provide aid for the poor and the disabled.

With only 150 disabled people and 450 poor families registered, the council feels that its activities and facilities have not reached the target groups as desired.

As such, a programme was launched on Saturday at the Taman Dato Harun market in PJS2, Petaling Jaya, to reach out to the disabled, poor and senior citizens in the city.

Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohd Talha, MBPJ planning department director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali, councillors Anthony Thanasayan, Halimey Abu Bakar and Prof Madya Melasutra Md Dali were present at the event.

The launch also highlighted the facilities the council had been providing for the poor, among them are:
Thoughtful service: Haniza (middle), Sharipah (right) and Anthony unveiling the van used to transport disabled persons around the city.

·Two community buses plying PJU and PJS;

·Two vans equipped with hydraulic lift to transport the disabled around the city;

·One mobile clinic that now travels to PPR Kota Damansara and Taman Sri Manja, but will expand its service to Impian Baiduri; and

·Various financial aid for poor families with schooling children and ill members.

Counters were set up at the site to register disabled people and poor families.

“Today we are launching a programme to look for the disabled, poor families and senior citizens, instead of waiting for them to come to us for help.

“MBPJ is the first local council in the country to take the initiative,” Haniza said.

“We target to have another 100 families registered with us by the end of the year and we will send a team to visit them one by one so that we can help them according to their needs.

“We hope they will realise that the council does care for them and respect their right to live a quality life like others in this city. With this campaign we can create an even more harmonious society,” she added.

The team that will visit the poor families comprises Thanasayan and officers from the planning department and Haniza’s service centre. They will also make trips to Lembah Subang, PJS 1 to PJS 6 and Kota Damansara.

Sharipah said even though the council had been providing various facilities for the target groups, the response had not been as good.

“We will look at all their needs including home environment and may even offer to turn their washrooms into disabled-friendly ones,” she said, adding that the council had set aside RM30,000 to provide the service and would also request developers to contri­bute to the cause dollar-to-dollar.

Thanasayan hoped that other local councils and state governments would emulate MBPJ’s proactive efforts in reaching out to the target groups.

Sinar: OKU guna kemudahan bas transit

Today's Sinar

Friday June 18, 2010

Towards disabled-friendly buildings in PJ
By TAN KARR WEI
karrwei@thestar.com.my

THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) hopes to set up a team to look into enforcement of guidelines for disabled-friendly buildings.

MBPJ secretary Puasa Md Taib said now there was only one officer in charge of the guidelines for barrier-free buildings while developed countries had a whole department to handle these matters.

“We’re looking into having a team with at least five officers, including those from the other departments like engineering, building control, landscaping and also councillors,” said Puasa after launching the two-day Section 13 Barrier-Free City workshop at the PJ Live Arts Centre in Jaya One.

He said having a team would ease the implementation of a pilot project in Section 13 for a barrier-free city.
At the launch: Puasa (second from left) flanked by MBPJ councillors Richard Yeoh, Puasa and Anthony Thanasayan with Sharipah and Living and Training Centre (ILTC) president Francis Siva.

“Many of the older places like Section 52 have been upgraded with disabled -friendly facilities but they are not inter-connected.

“We choose Section 13 because it has just been gazetted as a commercial area and we can put the responsibility on landowners to come up with buildings that are barrier-free and interlinked with the other structures,” Puasa said.

Puasa said the council would not issue a Certificate of Fitness (CF) to landowners who did not comply with the barrier-free guidelines.

“I hope to see Section 13 as a place with all the disabled-friendly facilities in place,” he said.

He added that the council would also be pushing for developers to follow the Green Building Index when planning their developments.

MBPJ town planning director Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali said MBPJ also had plans to install mobile ramps on staircases at MBPJ buildings and parks.

MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme

Recently, we have invited to participate in a community program - MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme” targeted at the poor, disabled, and elderly.

Much to my surprise, good response from the disabled community and others by the way they wanted to participated.

“ They Came, they Saw…they Participated! ” ...

Joyous news

Thursday June 17, 2010

Joyous news

LAST Saturday, MBPJ launched its “Facilities for the Urban Poor Programme” targeted at the poor, disabled, and elderly.

The event was held at a popular market next to the Jumhuriyah mosque in Taman Dato Harun. The VIP for the day, Taman Medan assemblyman Haniza Mohd Talha, arrived long before the people did.

About 150 people turned up. Talking to some of them later, I found out how excited they were about the special project. The disabled and the elderly were thrilled to learn about MBPJ’s wheelchair-friendly vans. They had no idea that the vehicles existed or that the handicapped could request for them free-of-charge.

“Thank God I don’t need to put up with cabbies who always complain when I have to take my invalid mother to the hospital,” said a female resident. “Cabbies not only make a fuss about wheelchairs but they also refuse to help me put it in the booth,” she explained, adding that with the special van and its hydraulic lift, her mother could easily be lifted into the vehicle without any problem.

I was reminded of the time I visited a 70-year-old man in a low-cost flat some weeks ago. A heart operation had left him semi-paralysed. He lay in bed all day while his elderly wife sold titbits outside their flat to make ends meet. He had trouble going to the toilet which was not designed for the handicapped. He had no wheelchair even though he had approached various charities for help.

I met another elderly woman with a similar predicament. A diabetic, she was unable to walk because of the wounds on her heels.

Fortunately for me, my fellow councillor Tang Fuie Koh offered to donate wheelchairs to the senior citizens.The wheelchairs were rushed to them. The reception we got when we arrived at their homes was heart-warming.

The elderly gentleman dropped what he was doing and got into the wheelchair. He was so excited and smiled non-stop.

The elderly lady was so happy that she burst into tears of joy. I heard later that she got out of her tiny apartment every now and then to enjoy some sun and fresh air.

Even though we received the sad news of her passing recently, we will never forget how a wheelchair made her last days so joyous. We realised how a simple act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life.

One of MBPJ’s projects is to fix the bathrooms of disabled and elderly persons, for free, if they are not wheelchair-friendly.

The day ended with the MBPJ team headed by Puan Sharipah Marhaini, head of planning, making a quick visit to the mosque next door.

We were pleased to find proper ramps in the building. However, there were no disabled-friendly toilets. We decided to install one each for the ladies and the gentlemen so that they can fulfil their religious obligations in greater comfort. We also identified a suitable parking spot for the handicapped. This will be constructed with an overhead shelter to protect users from the harsh elements.

Indeed, there were plenty of reasons that day for everyone to beam from ear to ear. From the looks of it, they will keep on smiling as the local council continues to push forward in its new vision for Petaling Jaya.

A thought for senior citizens and the disabled

Friday June 11, 2010

A thought for senior citizens and the disabled

SENIOR citizens and disabled persons can expect more efforts by the Government to increase job opportunities for them.

For the former, the Government will continue its 100% tax rebate on costs to retrain older persons to encourage greater employment opportunities.

This is in line with the projected increase of those aged above 60 from two million in 2009 to 3.4 million by 2020.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), the database on employment opportunities for older persons under Jobs Malaysia would be promoted more actively. Jobs Malaysia is an automated online job matching system provided by the Human Resources Ministry, launched on May 30 2002.

While day care centres for senior citizens, established in partnership with NGOs, would be expanded, access to healthcare would also continue to be improved through provision of free transport to hospitals and clinics by the Social Welfare Department.

As for the disabled, the Government will actively pursue its target of getting them 1% of the jobs in the civil service.

Existing programmes such as Job Coach would be broadened to assist the disabled in seeking and retaining positions in open employment through ICT programmes such as an electronic labour exchange system operated by the Labour Department.

Retired teacher Doreen Chan lauded the move to promote the employment of senior citizens.

“If given the opportunity, I don’t mind offering my services to the Government again as long as it is within my field,” said a 63-year-old who taught English at a primary school in Kuala Lumpur.

Responding to the initiatives for the disabled, Petpositive president Anthony Thanasayan welcomed the targeted 1% disabled employment in the civil service.

“However, this target will not be reached unless office buildings are made disabled-friendly.”

Metta Hermitage Meditation Society Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Wilayah Persekutuan celebrated Vesak Day at Metta Forest Hermitage, Batu Arang, Selangor.

Last 28th May 2010 - Metta Hermitage Meditation Society Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Wilayah Persekutuan celebrated Vesak Day 2010 at Metta Forest Hermitage, Batu Arang, Selangor. The members from ILTC wishes many many thanks to Guru and Members of the Metta Hermitage and well wishers who generously donated towards ILTC for the Wesak 2010 celebrations.

Wesak Day 2010 Guruji giving his Wesak Day speech

Support for the needy
Vegetarian lunch

Dr. Choong opening the Mugalin Zendo Court

See more photos from Wesak Day 2010

Civil service lagging in employing the disabled

Tuesday June 15, 2010

Civil service lagging in employing the disabled

IPOH: Only six agencies have complied with a circular which stipulates that government agencies need to allocate 1% of its total workforce for the disabled.

Development of Persons with Dis-abilities department director Noraini Hashim said 581 disabled people had joined the civil service since the circular was issued in 2008.

Of these, 97 were employed by welfare departments in various states.

“There are various reasons why the agencies could not fulfil the 1% quota. One is that the type of job applied for by the disabled person did not meet the agency’s requirements,” she said after opening a seminar on building and public infrastructure for disabled persons.

There were also cases where the agencies felt the disabled person was not competent for the jobs.

State Economic Planning Unit director Datuk Abu Bakar Said, who represented Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, opened the one-day seminar.

Urging government department heads to take heed of the abilities of the disabled, Noraini said the department hoped 90% of the agencies would fill the 1% quota by 2012.

“It may be a tall order but we will work aggressively towards that,” she added.

Noraini said the private sector fared better when dealing with disabled people with over 17,000 having been employed.

To help mediate between disabled persons and prospective employers, the department has established a job coaching system.

“We hope to have a job coach for each state in the country,” she said, adding that five coaches were currently undergoing training in Japan.

PJ Mosque To Become Disabled-Friendly

Story courtesy by Petpositive

Monday, June 14, 2010

PJ Mosque To Become Disabled-Friendly

DATELINE MASJID JUMHURIYAH, TAMAN DATO HARUN:

Worshippers with disabilities as well as the elderly at the well-known mosque here will soon be able to fulfill their religious obligations with greater comfort.

The good news was revealed last Saturday. This was after a team of experts from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) visited the house of worship for Muslims to check on its disabled-friendly facilities.

The access-audit began from the point worshippers approached the building to how they would go inside.

Thanasayan thrilled by ramp at the front of the mosque

The group was led by the director of planning Puan Sharipah Marhaini and councillor Anthony SB Thanasayan.

"Although the present ramp into the mosque isn't a hundred percent perfect, most people will still be able to use it without much difficulty," observed a pleased Thanasayan after he and the team spent about 45 minutes assessing the building.
"I'm absolutely thrilled that the ramp was built at the main entrance of the mosque and not hidden away at the back as this adds on to the dignity of the disabled and elderly whose entrances must always be in front of the building," added Thanasayan who also serves as chairman of the disability expert team in the local council. Puan Sharipah tackled the carpark area to the mosque.

Assisted by Mr Francis Siva, a tetraplegic, from the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) in Rawang, Selangor who also sits in MBPJ's disability expert team, the director of planning managed to identify a suitable spot at the entrance of the mosque's compound to place the handicapped parking.

"Users with special needs will be protected from the elements to make life easier for them" - Sharipah

The promised to get it duly covered too, so as to protect users from the harsh elements such as the sun and rain.

However, the major addition to the mosque that day would be a handicapped-friendly restroom each for men and women.

"Instead of subjecting our target groups to share a toilet, a separate toilet for both sexes would further add to the dignity of the person," said Dr Melasutra Md Dali who is the councillor- in-charge of the area. Also present with her were fellow MBPJ councillors Encik Halimey Bin Abu Bakar from Zone 24 and R Selvarajan from Zone 14.

The visit to the mosque was part of a major outreach event by MBPJ last week to reach out to the poor, disabled and the elderly in Petaling Jaya.

It was initiated by the State Assemblyman for Taman Medan Haniza Mohd Talha.

The first-time effort will see MBPJ literally knocking on the doors of the poorest houses in PJ in an attempt to reach out to the most unfortunate communities.

The effort has drawn lots of praises from many quarters.

Note: Pictures courtesy from ILTC.

A dozen of Students (Diploma in Physiotheraph) from the College Of Allied Health Sciences (Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu)

A dozen of Students (Diploma in Physiotheraph) from the College Of Allied Health Sciences (Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu) Sg. Buloh, Selangor Darul Ehsan were underdoing their practical training in ILTC for two weeks.
The reasons of the training to learn more deeply as well as develop their skills of doing and able to carry out systhematic assessment skills, plan physioterapy program safety and effectively. President had describe the various roles with holistic manner of a physiotherapy in rehabilitation for quadriplegic. President have put together just a few of his past interesting testimonies at Hospital Kuala Lumpur ...

Just a quick note to update

Just a quick note to update

A true short story from the personal experience - A Memorable Journey

Wow! What a wonderful experience and services provided by Automobile Association of Malaysia

Last Sunday, we were about 10 people from ILTC went to Kuala Lumpur. Suddently our ILTC Van was breakdown at Ipoh Road at near Taman Wahyu, Batu Caves at 7.00pm and we were fear, panic, worried and stuck in the van.

We immediately managed to reach the AAM, Malaysia’s No: 1 emergency and breakdown assistance service provider and almost within 45 minutes they offered a very Excellence services last Sunday towards disabled person from ILTC.

We were delighted with their assistance on-the-spot of caring and deliver excellent service to a critical situation. We are very happy and most helpful by your AAM's friendly staff.

Thank you,

From,

G. Sivasangararao
President
Independent Living & Training Centre
48000 Rawang
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

As you can see, below some pictures.