The disabled community in Malaysia yesterday revealed publicly for the first time that they have never been consulted by any party regarding their needs and problems.

Speaking out at a one-day human rights training programme in Kuala Lumpur, the 30-odd participants poured out their daily frustrations and growing-up pains in a society insensitive to the needs of special people.

"We've had to put up with a lot of discrimination and humiliation in our life, and still are. For example, we often have to fight with security guards to park near to an entrance at shopping malls or hospitals," said Anthony Thanasayan, who was born with a deformed spine and is confined to a wheelchair.

"This is a perennial problem for us because the special lot allotted for the disabled is usually located the furthest from the entrance or it would have been occupied by another car, usually a BMW or Mercedes, belonging to an able-bodied bigshot.

"In developed countries, parking lots for the disabled are right next to the entrance," said the 42-year-old who also has a column on the physically disabled in English daily The Star.

The training was jointly organised by Rawang-based Independent Living and Training Centre and Era Consumer Malaysia in conjunction with the International Day of Disabled Persons themed 'Independent Living and Sustainable Livelihood'.

Era, which has undertaken the role of facilitator for the disabled community, will submit a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) based on today's outcome.

One major discrimination faced by disabled persons was in the job sector where most said they were dropped after the interviews due to their physical appearance although they had basic skills or computer knowledge.

Non-compliance

Anthony said very few buildings in Malaysia complied with the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 as the disabled community still faced problems gaining access to the post office, banks, government departments and other public places.

The by-law, which comes under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, makes it mandatory for all new buildings to have facilities and amenities as prescribed by the Malaysian standard code of practice for access for disabled people.

Apart from representatives of organisations for the disabled, some of the participants were students of ELC International School in Sungai Buloh who attended the programme as part of their community service project. The school also accommodates children with disabilities.

Independent Living and Training Centre president Francis Siva said that during his conference visits to other countries, he observed a high quality of life for the disabled persons there.

"The public transportation for the disabled was excellent. The disabled community there were treated as equals, unlike here."

A participant known as Christopher, who ferries wheelchair-bound persons to a hospital in Petaling Jaya, became upset when recounting the "hell" he had to endure at the hands of the hospital's security guards over parking.

"I am given hell by the security guards every time I take any disabled person to hospital. When I try to park near the hospital entrance, I am rudely reprimanded and told to park at the very end of the hospital compound which is quite a distance.

"But the BMWs get away with having a shady spot nearest to the entrance... such is the double standard we have to face daily."

Insensitive attitude

Another participant, Frank Lee, also confined to a wheelchair, said he was forced to buy a car because taxis had refused to take him at all.

On common facilities, the participants said that where disabled-friendly toilets are provided by hotels or large establishments, most often they were used as storerooms for cleaning equipment, causing much inconvenience to disabled users.

Some also claimed that they were barred from going to ordinary schools due to their physical disabilities and were instead told to attend special schools.

Recounting his schooldays, a participant who managed to complete his secondary education in a 'normal' school, said he had to drink less water while at school because he was not allowed to go to the school toilet.

Earlier, Suhakam commissioner Prof Hamdan Adnan, in his opening remarks, urged the disabled community to speak up more and be heard demanding for their rights.

"It is not so much neglect of the disabled community but ignorance of practical issues that is the root cause of the society's insensitivity. Many don't even know that there are disabled persons among us."

He also urged the media, particularly the government-owned RTM, to provide airtime to highlight the concerns of the disabled community so that other Malaysians would also be sensitised to their special needs.

An estimated 250,000 persons with various disabilities are currently registered with the Social Welfare Department, but the United Nations figure is that one in every 10 persons is disabled.