Laws allow accessibility, but the disabled are still isolated

When visually impaired Stevens Chan made headlines for taking his guide dog Lashawn into a shopping mall recently, Malaysians were faced with a tricky situation: Should public transport allow animals that are trained to assist the disabled?

Senator and advocate for the disabled, Bathmavathi Krishnan, says guide dogs are necessary for the blind as it allows independence and accessibility. “Those who want to use trained dogs should be allowed to,” she said.

Religious sensitivities

Bathmavathi, who became a paraplegic in an accident back in 1975, pointed to reports quoting Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya as saying that blind Muslims can use guide dog.

Fatwa Council president Dr Abdul Shukor Husni had also been quoted in media reports stating that there was no specific fatwa (decree) issued on guide dogs for the blind, but if there was a request and the FC saw a need for a fatwa on guide dogs, a discussion can take place.

This was good news for the disabled, says Bathmavathi.

“No one says no to a discussion. Once the fatwa is decided upon, we can move to the next step.”

Rather than being provocative, she said it was important to raise this issue to the FC, allowing an open discussion where Muslims for and against guide dogs could share their views.

“We are at a situation where we have to make a decision, taking into account the majority (Muslims) and respecting their beliefs and values,” she said.

Petaling Jaya City Councilor Sia Siew Chin, who is herself disabled, said striking a balance between respecting sensitivities and allowing guide dogs to access public spaces and transport, was a tricky one.

“I believe everyone has their right to choose and this is their right to choose to use guide dogs. At the same time we have to respect the Muslims, they have their beliefs and we have to take that into account. It is also their right to choose not to have dogs in buildings.”

Sia pointed out that guide dogs could protect the disabled from danger, while other disabled persons in wheelchair use guide dogs to fetch items in spaces that were inaccessible.

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What the law says

We took a look at the Persons Disabilities Act 2008, which clearly stated that there must be universal access for the disabled. Under Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Act, two sections point out that “persons with disabilities shall have the right to access to and use of public transport facilities, amenities and services open or provided to the public on equal basis with persons without disabilities.”

And following that, “the Government and the providers of such public transport facilities, amenities and services shall give appropriate consideration and take necessary measures to ensure that such facilities, amenities and services conform to universal design in order to facilitate their access and use by persons with disabilities.”

And, all public buildings are required by law to provide access to the disabled.   Under the Uniform Building Bylaw (UBBL) Section 34A stated that: “Any building or part thereof to which this by-law applies shall be approved with access to enable disabled persons to get into, out of and within the building for which access is provided wholly or mainly for the inspection, maintenance or repair of the building, its services or fixed plant or machinery; and be designed with facilities for use by disabled persons”.

Ramps built, but too steep

The law provides for the disabled but there were gaps between building plans and the end product, said Thomas Yeoh, an access auditor with the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled.

“For example, ramps are sometimes built too steep, or disabled parking lots too narrow,” said Yeoh, who provides advisory services to companies who wish to make their buildings disabled-friendly.

For existing buildings, the onus – and cost – is on the owners.

He spoke of one hotel owner to requested a quotation from him but decided not to go ahead with construction because ‘statistics showed that not enough disabled people were using hotels to justify the cost’.

“It’s a chicken and egg kind of situation. Disabled people can’t travel because the infrastructure isn’t friendly to them. And the infrastructure won’t become disabled-friendly because not enough disabled people are travelling to justify the business case for it,” said Yeoh.

He also highlighted the issue of connectivity. While pockets of the Klang Valley were disabled-friendly, they were often not connected.

For example, RapidKL buses, LRT stations, KTM stations and a good number of public buildings shopping malls are wheelchair accessible – but not connected to one another. So, a wheelchair user can get onto a bus, but can’t go any further than the bus stop because the pavements aren’t ramped. Or they can use the LRT but can’t reach the shopping centre across the highway because the overhead pedestrian walkway is a staircase.

As a Senator (sworn in last year), Bathmavathi’s voice in Parliament helps her push for more issues to be resolved. She had proposed for a regulatory body to be set up under the Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure technical committees in local councils consider accessibility issues. She asked that training and proper accreditation for accessibility auditors be done by a specific body.

For Sia, the solution lies in changing mindsets. The first-time councilor said while laws exist, it was all down to implementation. “Our previous councillors had done a good job, with MBPJ setting up guidelines for disabled-friendly buildings standards in the city."

Don't see us through 'charity' lenses

What I want to do now is to monitor the buildings, but many don't adhere to the code as they feel it is costly,” she said, explaining her plans for a conference at the end of the year to promote accessible tourism while encouraging disabled tourists to travel to Malaysia.

“People need to view the disabled not from a 'charitable' angle, rather one that views them as able to spend their tourist dollars here. Disabled tourists in Korea are given allowances to travel, so why shouldn't Malaysia tap into that markets,” she said, adding Malaysia should understand that disabled tourists as well as senior citizens were a source of income to the country.

“Once we have the adequate accessibility, we can attract disabled tourists and senior citizens from Korea and Japan,” she said. Sia also pointed out that based on tourism research there was a higher spending power from elderly or senior citizen tourists.