Kuala Lumpur not disabled-friendly

The Star 
by SHALINI RAVINDRAN

BLOCKED pathways, faulty pedestrian lights and ignorant motorists are just some of the challenges that persons with disabilities (PWDs) have to face when moving about in Kuala Lumpur.

During a recent walkabout in the city, organised by the Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee, it was glaring that more needs to be done to make the city safer and friendlier to the PWDs.

About 20 members of the Bar Council, National Council for the Blind Malaysia, Society of the Blind in Malaysia (SBM), Skuad Prihatin and Gerakan Bersama Kebangkitan Orang Kurang Upaya 2012 (Bangkit 2012) walked from Menara DBKL, Jalan Raja Laut towards UTC Pudu Sentral in Jalan Pudu to see the situation for themselves.

During the walk, the participants, some physically disabled, pointed out the challenges faced by the community, such as a lack of tactile pavements to guide the visually impaired, insufficient curb ramps and narrow pathways for those using wheelchairs.

Participant Moses Choo, 58, who is partially blind, said: “This city has not been developed with the PWDs in mind.

“Although the authorities have attempted to address our needs over the past few years, some basic amenities and facilities are still lacking.

“For example, it is commendable that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has installed signalised pedestrian crossings at strategic junctions. But of what use are they if they do not function, or when they are functioning, there are no audible signals, such as beeps, in order to help the blind or partially sighted pedestrians cross?

“Another commonly overlooked feature is some type of indicator for us to locate the control box to activate the lights,” Choo said, adding that these problems were compounded by a lack of civic consciousness among motorists, who tend to ignore and dismiss the pedestrians.

Bar Council chairman of the PWDs working group and lawyer Mohammad Faizal Che Yusof, who is visually impaired, said many of these issues were a perennial problem faced by the community nationwide.

“The purpose of the walk is not to find fault with the local authorities, but to highlight some of the problems that we encounter when moving about in the city.

“It is important that the authorities implement the concept of universal design in their town planning,” he said.

The Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairman Andrew Khoo said amenities and facilities for PWDs should be integrated and not stand alone.

“Based on our observations, we noticed that there is a lack of communication between the different parties in building the infrastructure.

“After this event, we will compile the data and photos into a report and send to DBKL, the Federal Territories Ministry and to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, and hope that these flaws will be addressed,” he said.