Disabled community pushes for improved building regulations

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to enact disabled-friendly building regulations to ensure the provision of facilities for this group of people.

Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) president Prof Datuk Abdullah Malim Baginda said the existing directive only advised companies to build such disabled-friendly facilities and the matter often fell on deaf ears.

 

“If the directive was made compulsory, all new buildings will then be required by law to have ramps and existing buildings must be modified to accommodate this,” he added.

 

Abdullah Malim said the government should impose a deadline for companies to implement the changes and if they ignored it, penalties ought to be imposed.

 

“Making changes to an existing building will incur cost and companies often felt there was no need in spending money for such facilities.

 

“With a penalty, companies will be forced to implement such changes,”he said.

 

Besides the inaccessibility factor, KL-Selangor Welfare Society for Handicap Citizens president Lim Kok Onn said private toilets lack facilities for the disabled. 

 

He also said not all LRT stations were equipped with ramps.

 

“The disabled cannot make use of the public transportation as they are unable to get to the trains,” he said.

 

Commenting on the identity card for persons with disabilities, which can now be obtained within a day, he said the move was a step forward in recognising the needs of the disabled.

 

“We will just have to wait and see if this new measure will take place effectively throughout the country.”

 

The new development was announced by the Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon in conjunction with the national-level celebration of International Day of People with a Disability, on Monday.

 

According to Lim, previously, the card application took from three months to almost a year. 

 

Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Malaysia president V. Murugeswaran welcomed the new initiative.

 

He said the government should emulate the Manjung Municipal Council in Perak which imposed a RM10,000 penalty on buildings that did not provide disable-friendly facilities.

 

“The Uniformed Building By-Laws 1984 should have a penalty clause as the current condition would not change until there are changes made to the law.”

 

Noriah said yesterday there were ongoing discussions with the Local Government and Housing Ministry regarding disabled friendly rules for buildings. 

 

“We are still in discussion with the relevant stakeholders and hopefully will be making changes to the Local Government Act 1976 to incorporate compulsory disabled-friendly building regulations applicable to both the government and public sector,” she said.