Thursday July 26, 2012

A chance to voice out

Wheel Power
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

It is about time that our city pay attention to the needs of the disabled and build with them in mind.

MORE than 200 participants attended the PJ Liveable City Conference 2012 – City of Your Choice conference, organised by the Petaling Jaya City Council and the Malaysian Institute of Planners.

This was the second time the organisers were holding such an event after four years.

The purpose of the seminar, from my perspective, was to review, check and fine tune the goals of the 2008 conference. The vision was to make Petaling Jaya more “liveable” for all its residents with diverse needs.

It was good to see participants with disabilities at the seminar. The blind with their noticeable white canes and people in wheelchairs as well as the elderly were present.

The deaf were also invited, along with their sign-language interpreters. Judging from their participation, they certainly did not hesitate to express their views and concerns.

The talks that got my attention most were those by foreign experts who were invited to speak at the seminar. These included a husband and wife team, who were managing directors and consultants from Perth in Australia. The other trainer was from Canada.

The speakers offered valuable insight on how to effectively engage with the local government.

In terms of the local council, they reminded the authorities of the importance of including stakeholders in their planning and development projects.

No matter how critical some groups may be, it is still vital to embrace all residents and their special needs, they stressed. They then went on to point out the weaknesses in their own local governments and societies, as a learning curve for the benefit of the participants.

One of the things that made the disabled community sit up and pay attention was when one the experts suggested putting able-bodied local council heads, town planners and even architects, in wheelchairs for a day.

It was pointed out that this would be the most effective way to get people in positions of power to understand the needs of the handicapped community.

A blind participant said that he was thrilled to be invited to talk about his city’s future, especially as far as his needs as a blind resident was concerned.

He was delighted to be able to mingle with town planners, architects and Residents Association representatives.

“Many of the sighted persons were surprised that I had so much to contribute, even though I can’t see a thing,” he shared with me later.

He brought up the example of hotel facilities which were often not friendly towards the handicapped like him.

He had even met architects who hadn’t a clue about tactile flooring which are meant to assist the blind find their own way independently.

Another common problem was non-talking lifts. Since there are no voice synthesisers, blind people have no idea which floor they are getting off.

Braille buttons only help them decide which floor they want to get to.

A wheelchair-user said he always worries about accessibility whenever he goes out in his wheelchair.

“Hotels that don’t provide disabled-friendly car parks right at the entrance with wheelchair logos are actually saying to handicapped people that they don’t want us there. This is the message we indirectly get from them,” said the 51-year-old participant.

A liveable city for wheelchair users should have smooth pavements for wheelchairs, covered-up manholes, ramps in entrances of buildings and handicapped-friendly toilets on every floor, he pointed out.

An able-bodied participant, who is involved in several major development projects in the Klang Valley, said that it is high time that the handicapped and the elderly’s needs are taken into account in every aspect of city-building.

“Malaysia can no longer afford to be lackadaisical about this,” he added.

“Creating a community which is accessible and inclusive will help the disabled immensely. It is important for the government of the day (at state and federal levels) to prepare for access for the disabled and have an inclusive plan for Malaysians with special needs. Such a plan is much needed, considering the current trend where more and more people are growing older and becoming disabled.

“One can ask what does access and inclusion mean? It means different things to different people. By providing information, services and facilities that are accessible to people with various disabilities, an authority is reducing barriers to participation, and promoting inclusion in the activities and functions of that community,” he concluded.

The Liveable City Conference certainly opened up the eyes and hearts of many a participant that day.