KEC Unity Run 2014

Klang Executive Club organised a KEC 10km Unity Run on 13th April 2014 at Port Teck Tower Bandar Baru Klang, Selangor. 20 ILTC Malaysia members were participated.

Furore over temple rule against wheelchairs

Ng Suzhen

 | April 10, 2014

Temple taken to task in violating the rights of wheelchair bound devotees.

PETALING JAYA: A Hindu temple in Petali

ng Jaya has irked wheelchair bound devotees by putting up a notice barring them from bringing in their wheelchairs into the proper temple premises to carry out their prayers.

The temple located on Bukit Gasing had put up a signboard detailing the rules devotees need to adhere to during their visit there.

Nevertheless, one of the rules on the list had explicitly spelled out the following:

“Wheelchairs are not permitted within temple premises as with the general rule of shoes and slippers”.

One of those affected by the rule is wheelchair bound activist and former Petaling Jaya councillor Anthony SB Thanasayan, who is furious with the temple for comparing wheelchairs to shoes and slippers.

“You have a choice when you are wearing shoes but we cannot choose… you can’t give an apology and expect everything to be fine after creating such distress,” said Anthony on behalf of all those who are wheelchair bound.

“This is full blast ugliness and horror, coming from a temple that is supposed to be setting an example of how a place of religion should behave in a secular world.”

Meanwhile Francis Siva, president of Independent Living and Training Malaysia, shared the same sentiments as Anthony, and reiterated that they will take alternative measures if no action is taken against the temple.

He called on the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to take necessary steps to solve the issue.

“MBPJ should be working to solve this problem. If they fail to do so, we have no choice but to plan out a protest at the temple for their discrimination.”

“The temple should be a holy place with spiritual leaders. What they are doing right here is against what they should stand for.”

Meantime, when contacted, Petaling Jaya councillor Cynthia Gabriel promised to look into the situation but hopes that the public will give her a few days to tackle the issue.

“I am aware of the situation but I have not been at the site to see it for myself yet. I will do so within one or two days and decide how best to tackle the situation.”

FMT tried contacting the temple authorities several times but failed to get any response.

This temple has been there for more than 50 years and recently was mired with controversy due to illegal extensions.

Meanwhile, Sivan temple management president T Maharathan said the decision to not allow wheelchairs into the temple was because the lack of space at the place of worship.

“We are not so inhumane as to disallow those with a disability to pray. The sign is indicated because of the limited space in the temple which, as a place of prayer, should be kept clean.

“Devotees are allowed to pray at the side of the temple as well and are not limited to only conducting their prayers inside the premises,” he said.

Maharathan said since news broke out “the situation is spiraling out of control and becoming a media circus’.

“I have even received death threats on Facebook. This is because some people want to turn this into something which is not. They want to create a ruckus.

“The temple or God does not discriminate against anyone, wheelchair or otherwise. You can pray, that is not a problem. Please visit the temple and see for yourself if bringing in a wheelchair is advisable. Also if we allow a wheelchair bound, we must also guarantee his safety in the small space.

“If we fail to do this, we would be blamed too. So, what else can we do except bar wheelchairs,” he added.

The Sivan temple has been around for more than 50 years and was mired in controversy for causing landslides due to its structure since 2006.

It is perched at the tip of Bukit Gasing overlooking the Petaling Jaya city.

The loss of a disabled hero

Anthony SB Thanasayan

 | April 2, 2014

Hours before Chong Tuck Meng went into surgery, he told this writer that he was looking forward to get back at once to his advocacy work again.

COMMENT

The local disabled community lost one of its best known activists last month. Chong Tuck Meng, aged 52 and who hail

s from Bentong in Pahang, died a fortnight ago in a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur. He underwent a kidney stone surgery that became complicated.

No one knows Chong better than 55-year-old Francis Siva. He also owes a great deal of appreciation to Chong for helping him cope with his life of disability all these years.

“I was in a state of total depression after I became paralysed from my neck down following a motor accident,” recalled Francis from Rawang, Selangor.

“Being a very active businessman before my accident, my handicapped state was just too much for me to bear. I just wanted to die,” he added.

“I refused to cooperate with my doctors or physiotherapists. Even professional counsellors couldn’t get to me. I simply refused to believe that life was worth living again.”

That was almost 30 years ago.

Today, however, Francis is president of the Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia – a uniquely successful self help disability centre which helps empower Malaysians with disabilities like himself.

The ILTC helps disabled people mostly from poor backgrounds to take charge of their lives with independent living skills and plan out their lives.

“I sometimes shudder at the thought of what would have happened if I had committed suicide way back then during those initial days of confusion,” said Francis.

Which is why he is ever grateful to have met Chong.

Francis first met Chong in 1987 in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. This was about six months after Francis’ accident.

“The doctors intentionally placed my bed next to Chong who was also a tetraplegic like me.

“They told me they were doing this with the hope that by me talking to Chong, it would help me accept my disability and move forward,” Francis explained.

Chong had the experience of becoming handicapped two years earlier which made him paralysed like Francis.

Chong was riding pillion on his best friend’s motorcycle when it suddenly lost control. His friend escaped with only minor scratches whilst Chong bore the brunt of the mishap.

“Although Chong warmly greeted me with a smile, I suddenly found myself coiling up.

“I knew it was a rude thing to do but I couldn’t help myself. I remember feeling that my life was ended and the last thing I wanted to do was to have a ward mate in the exact same condition as I was.”

Wheelchair advocate

And although Francis never spoke to Chong for nearly two months, the latter didn’t seem to mind it.

“Chong seem to understand that I needed time to get over my depression. He would still be nice to me and make polite talk even though I never replied. And then, things started to slowly change.”

Francis started to observe the positive way in which Chong treated life.

Although he couldn’t move around without the help of others, he never complained. Instead he tried to do things often with the help of nurses and his family members who came to visit him.

These ranged from having his meals, shifting from his bed and to the bathroom and going around in the ward to talk with other patients and the hospital staff.

The biggest impact that Chong made on Francis was when the former got discharged 10 months later.

But Chong never forgot his friends in the ward. He came back to visit, something he would do again and again, just to encourage them.

“When Chong returned, he was no longer in patients’ garb. He was dressed well with normal clothes and spoke with a lot of confidence.

That was the major turning point for me that made me realise that there was life after disability – even for the profoundly paralysed like Chong and me.”

It wasn’t until after Francis was discharged about 4 years later from the government hospital that both he and Chong started working together on projects to help improve the quality of lives of disabled Malaysians.

These included areas of counselling, job employment to advocacy for disabled welfare and rights with the government.

Chong especially excelled in the field of advocacy. He was never afraid to speak his mind whenever it involved the interest of disabled people.

He would boldly express his views in public to ministers, health care experts and to social workers.

Some of the issues he passionately fought for were for special caregivers to look after people like him and the cost to be footed by the government as is being practised by other countries.

Chong also strongly felt that every disabled person in the country should be given RM500 a month as an aid to daily living and rising costs.

Ongoing work

He pointed out that some of the national budget for the disabled over the recent years were some of the worst he had ever seen by not addressing the real needs of the disabled.

Hours before Chong went into surgery he told this writer that he was looking forward to his week long recuperation prognosis and get back at once to his advocacy work again, among others.

But as fate would have it; his presence was needed more elsewhere – leaving all of us who respected and admired this great champion of a man to carry on with his key work and mission here on earth.

Chong headed wheelchair basketball and rugby in Malaysia. He was a great believer in animal-assisted therapy.

The wheelchair advocate relied on his personal schools of goldfishes in his half dozen aquariums for daily de-stress in facing his challenges each day.

Anthony SB Thanasayan is a wheelchair and animal activist. He is also a former city councillor.

A VISIT TO SEREMBAN

ILTC Malaysia colleagues visited a newly became a disabled person Mr. Nadarajah from Taman Seremban Jaya, Seremban on 30/3/2014.

Last year April 2013, Mr. Nadarajah had a motorcycle accident and due to that, he sustained a fracture dislocation of #T4 with a Spinal cord injury. (In addition his spine was fused with screws after sustaining a back fracture)

He is quite depressed, emotional and less confidence in himself.

We went there to do counselling and trying to get motivate him to never give up.

Furthermore, we are intending to build him confidence, focused and give help as wanted and needed. We have told him that, most important thing is not to look back.

In conclusion is that, after our sharing we have noticed him there is much differences and positive...... 

President shared on "OKU we Care"

On behalf of our organization, would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to the Industrial Psychology Programme, UNISEL Bestari Jaya and the organized Committee approach and follow were most professional and appreciated.

Furthermore, thank you for invited as the guest of honour for the event.

Attached the photos during the program We Care for OKU "Sharing and Caring" held at Unisel Bestari Jaya on 27th March 2014.( Location: Senate Chamber, 3rd Floor, Chancellery Building, UNISEL Bestari Jaya)

We deeply thank you for being part of the program.

Attached the photos during the program We Care for OKU "Sharing and Caring" held at Unisel Bestari Jaya on 27th March 2014.( Location: Senate Chamber, 3rd Floor, Chancellery Building, UNISEL Bestari Jaya)

We deeply thank you for being part of the program.