ITLC president taken to task for aggressive approach

Saturday May 22, 2010

ITLC president taken to task for aggressive approach

By STUART MICHAEL
metro@thestar.com.my

GOMBAK District land officer Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad is unhappy with the attitude of Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) president Francis Siva over his aggresive approach to resolve an issue related to quit rent.

He said Francis was not happy over RM50 charged as quit rent annual fee for the ITLC land in Rawang.

“He made an appointment last week but instead protested vehemently. Francis wanted his quit rent to be reduced from RM50 to about RM5. So, he went to the reception demanding to see me on the matter.

“At that particular time, I was in a meeting outside of my office. The following day, I went to the hospital to do a stress test.

Unhappy: Gombak District and Land officer Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad (far left) taking to the press to defend his staff over the disabled people’s protest.

“My staff helped him but he insisted on seeing me. They told him that I was not in the office on that day.

“He (Francis) just wanted to show his power and was protesting for his own personal reasons,’’ Zaharin said.

In another development, Zaharin admitted that the facilities for the disabled at the 30-year-old Gombak Land Office, were not up to standard and needed to be improved.

“Currently, we do not have the budget for making improvements. Moreover, this building is shared with the Gombak Public Works Department. It is not our own,’’ said Zaharin, during a press conference at his office.

Last week, about 15 disabled people held placards and protested over the lack of facilities at the Gombak Land Office in Selayang.

The group comprising members of ILTC and Malaysians Against Discrimination of the Disabled (MADD) claimed that the ramp for the disabled was too steep.

They added that there were no proper toilet facilities for disabled women while the staff at the information counter were unfriendly and that the employees were rude.

Tuduhan golongan OKU tidak relevan

News Article from Sinar

Tuduhan golongan OKU tidak relevan

Jumaat 21-2-2010

Tuduhan golongan OKU tidak relevan

BANDAR BARU SELAYANG - Pihak Pejabat Tanah dan Daerah Gombak menyifatkan dakwaan orang kurang upaya (OKU) dalam demonstrasi beramai-ramai mereka di perkarangan bangunan Kerajaan Negeri itu sebagai tidak relevan.

Pegawai daerahnya, Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad yang memberitahu demikian berkata, pihaknya sekali gus menafikan semua tuduhan dilemparkan kumpulan terbabit bahawa pihaknya tidak prihatin kesusahan OKU.

Katanya, kumpulan demonstrasi menuduh pihaknya tidak mesra OKU adalah tidak tepat berikutan pelbagai usaha telah diambil bagi memastikan keper-luan berkaitan diadakan.

“Saya pun tidak pasti standard layanan bagaimana yang golongan ini kehendaki. Sedangkan setakat 30 tahun kita di bangunan ini, tidak pernah ada run- gutan daripada OKU berkenaan isu sebegini.

“Dalam kes ini, kita turut sangsi apakah matlamat kumpulan berkenaan, mereka hanya datang pada hari Khamis (minggu lalu), dan kerana tidak dapat ber- jumpa saya keesokannya terus berdemonstrasi,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian dalam sidang media bagi memberikan penjelasan berhubung tindakan sekumpulan OKU diketuai Presiden Badan Latihan dan Hisup Berdikari, Francis Siva yang mengadakan demonstrasi di bangunan pejabatnya, baru-baru ini.

Dalam pada itu, Ahmad Zaharin mempertikaikan demonstrasi terus diadakan kumpulan terbabit tanpa menunggu hari temu janji dengannya yang sepatutnya berlangsung Selasa minggu ini.

“Pada hari pertama mereka datang lagi saya sudah minta supaya pembantu peribadi (PA) saya berjumpa OKU berkenaan yang ketika itu menunggu di bawah untuk menetapkan tarikh temu janji itu.

“Seperti sedia maklum, masa kerja terhad, mereka pun datang tanpa buat temu janji dan ke-betulan ketika itu saya sedang ada mesyuarat penting perlu dipengerusikan. Tetapi ada kaki- tangan saya yang melayan mereka,” katanya.

Jumaat lalu, golongan OKU merasakan sikap masyarakat terutama kakitangan awam didakwa masih tidak prihatin terhadap keperluan OKU, mendorong sekumpulan 25 OKU berkumpul secara aman di ban-gunan Pejabat Daerah Gombak bagi meluahkan perasaan mereka kepada agensi terbabit.

Francis Siva berkata, tindakan dilakukan dengan harapan supaya golongan sepertinya tidak diheret sama menghadapi karenah birokrasi dan berharap kekurangan kemudahan OKU di bangunan berkenaan diatasi.

Difahamkan isu bermula apabila wakil ILTC datang untuk meminta pengurangan cukai tanah sebanyak RM50 setahun dan mahu bertemu DO mengenai perkara itu, tetapi kecewa dengan layanan diberikan.


Lebih baik daripada pejabat daerah lain

Sementara itu, Ahmad Zaharin ketika mengulas berhubung dakwaan berkenaan, menyifatkan bangunan pejabatnya yang berusia 30 tahun itu , jauh lebih baik jika hendak dibandingkan dengan pejabat daerah lain.

“Kemudahan untuk OKU ini telah lama diwujudkan dan seperti laluan kerusi roda yang disediakan di hadapan bangunan pejabat daerah, malah mendapat pujian ramai dan tidak ada rungutan yang mengatakan laluan itu licin.

“Tandas OKU juga disediakan walaupun sempit. Jika kita hendak penuhi semua tuntutan sudah tentu sukar kerana ia melibatkan kos besar dan bangunan kerajaan pun tidak boleh sesuka hati ‘perbaiki’ kerana ia melibatkan prosedur kewangan,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya juga telah berusaha memperbaiki mutu perkhidmatan seperti menggunakan sistem nombor, tempat duduk dan menyediakan kaunter pendaftaran untuk kemudahan pelanggan.

Menurutnya, dari masa ke masa pihaknya sentiasa mengadakan perbincangan bersama pelanggan dalam usaha pihaknya memberikan perkhidmatan terbaik dan mengalu-alukan sebarang bentuk cadangan ke arah kebaikan bersama.

“Kalau betul mereka (kumpulan OKU) itu ikhlas dalam hal ini, mereka sepatutnya menunggu sehingga hari temu janji dan saya memang tiada masalah untuk berjumpa serta berbincang dengan mereka.

“Jika dua tiga kali hendak berjumpa saya tetapi gagal, saya rasa wajar (berdemonstrasi). Tetapi ini baru datang sekali, susah sikit. Kita ada saluran perlu diikuti,” katanya.

Ahmad Zaharin berkata, isu utamal kumpulan berkenaan yang mahu meminta pengurangan cukai telah pun diberikan penerangan oleh kakitangan jabatan berkenaan berhubung prosedur yang perlu dipenuhi.

"DO tiada kuasa membuat keputusan dalam pengurangan cukai tanah kerana ia tertakluk kepada Akta Tanah Negara.

"Pimpinan OKU terlibat sepatutnya faham berhubung prosedur yang perlu dipatuhi kerana terdapat antaranya mereka adalah dalam kalangan ahli dan bekas ahli majlis.

Jumaat 21-5-2010

Panggil polis kawal keadaan

Dalam pada itu, Ahmad Zaharin ketika mengulas tindakan pihaknya memanggil polis mengawasi demonstrasi berkenaan berkata, keputusan itu dibuat kerana dikhuatiri orang ramai bimbang untuk datang ke sini apabila melihat sedikit kekecohan berlaku di hadapan bangunan tempoh hari.

Katanya, pihaknya memanggil polis sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga kerana dimaklumkan mereka datang untuk berdemonstrasi melibatkan kira-kira 50 orang.

Terdahulu, dalam demonstrasi secara aman di bangunan berkenaan, Setiausaha ILTC, P Gurdip Kaur berkata, pihaknya kesal dan tersinggung apabila sepasukan polis dipanggil untuk mengawal keadaan, biarpun mereka hanya golongan OKU.

Thursday May 20, 2010

Horror trip

Trip to Land Office turns into a nightmare.

I HAVE always been a strong supporter of public awareness, especially when it comes to people with disabilities and the many unnecessary barriers placed before us that prevent us from living a normal life.

Whilst most of my disabled (and even able-bodied) colleagues had at times run out of patience when trying to educate the non-disabled about the needs of the handicapped, I’ve always managed to muster extra patience when dealing with those on the opposite end of the spectrum. Not, however, last Thursday at the Land Office in Gombak, Selangor.

What transpired there was shocking and unacceptable.

A disabled couple – the gentleman, paralysed from his neck down, and his wife, a paraplegic – dropped by the Land Office just before noon. Instead of being attended to immediately, they were largely ignored.

When the flustered couple insisted on seeing the district officer, they were told he was at a meeting in his office. They were asked to go home, make an appointment, and come back another day.

Did these people bother to consider the difficulties the couple faced getting to the Land Office?

According to the couple, the district officer went out at lunchtime and did not even bother to see them. Nobody was assigned to deal with their problem, either.

Things went from bad to worse during their three-hour ordeal.

Even the couple’s personal helpers were not able to help them overcome the obstacles at the Land Office building that ironically bore “disabled-friendly” signage.

The designated carpark for the disabled was too far from the entrance of the building. It was uncovered and visitors in crutches would have a hard time walking to the building.

To exacerbate matters, the handicapped are forced to cross an internal traffic of vehicles. Imagine how scary this can be for someone in crutches or in a wheelchair.

The only carpark that was next to the entrance was reserved for the district officer. It was ironically placed next to the wheelchair ramp.

The wheelchair ramp was much too steep and unsafe for use. It clearly did not follow building guidelines. What’s more, the ramp was wet and slippery, no thanks to water leaking from the roof.

Then came the nightmare of nightmares, especially for women with disabilities.

There was no disabled-friendly loo in the women’s restroom. Instead, disabled women would have to enter the men’s toilet, in full view of the urinals, before they can get into the cubicle to answer nature’s call.

I can’t imagine how an important government building such as the Land Office could subject disabled women to such a violation of their rights and dignity.

When we asked the authorities how they could allow such a thing to happen, they told us the building was about 30 years old and that they lacked funds to provide disabled-friendly toilets for women.

With the number of disabled persons on the increase and Malaysia moving towards an ageing nation status by 2035, we need to ask ourselves: how long are we going to keep on giving the same old excuses of old buildings and lack of funds to keep out a significant number of people who have been wrongfully marginalised?

Is it really a lack of funds or is it just sheer neglect in looking into what is truly important in our policies and where our spending should go?

Discussion with OCPD Rawang Part 2

ILTC

Discussion with OCPD Rawang Part 1

Monday May 17, 2010

Disabled protest over lack of facilities



By STUART MICHAEL
metro@thestar.com.my
Photos by P.NATHAN

ABOUT 15 disabled people held placards and protested over lack of facilities at the Gombak Land Office at Selayang last Friday.

Headed by Independent Living and Training Centre president Francis Siva, the disabled were unhappy over the ramp and toilet facilities in the building.

“Although the Gombak Land Office building is about 30 years old, the ramp was built five years ago.

“The ramp is too steep for the disabled to use.

“And water from the air-conditioner on the top floor of the building drops exactly on the ramp pathway making it slippery.

“There is no proper toilet facilities for disabled women while the staff at the information countre were unfriendly towards us,’’ he said.

Anthony Thanasayan, a member of Malaysians Against Discrimination of the Disabled (MADD) and an MBPJ councillor said the employees need to be taught manners and about how to treat the disabled.

“They even had police on standby to intimidate us but we just want our rights and voices to be heard,’’ he said.

When asked on the issue, the Gombak Land Office assistant district Administration officer Sahimin Ghazali said Francis came here demanding to see the district officer.

“Our staff at the counter told him that the district officer was not around and told him to see the Revenue assistant district officer, Norazalawati Md Azizi, instead.

“He wanted his quit rent to be reduced from RM50 annually to about RM5,’’

Norazalawati told him to write a letter and she would forward it to the district officer but he refused.

“Francis still insisted on seeing the district officer and I told him that he was in a meeting,” she said.

“Francis then told he would bring about 50 disabled people to hold a protest at the office. And for safety reasons, we stationed police personnel around in case there were any outward incidents,’’ she said.