International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December 2012

Development and human rights for all

Theme: United Nations declared December 3 every year as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The theme for 2012, “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all”

Over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world’s population, live with some form of disability.

Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minority”, often face barriers to participation in all aspects of society. Barriers can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment or to information and communications technology (ICT), or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from societal attitudes or discrimination. The result is that persons with disabilities do not have equal access to society or services, including education, employment, health care, transportation, political participation or justice.

Evidence and experience shows that when barriers to their inclusion are removed and persons with disabilities are empowered to participate fully in societal life, their entire community benefits. Barriers faced by persons with disabilities are, therefore, a detriment to society as a whole, and accessibility is necessary to achieve progress and development for all.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes that the existence of barriers constitutes a central component of disability. Under the Convention, disability is an evolving concept that “results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

Accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities are fundamental rights recognized by the CRPD and are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the enjoyment of other rights. The CRPD (Article 9, accessibility) seeks to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life and development. It calls upon States Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to all aspects of society, on an equal basis with others, as well as to identify and eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility.

In spite of this, in many parts of the world today, lack of awareness and understanding of accessibility as a cross-cutting development issue remains an obstacle to the achievement of progress and development through the Millennium Development Goals, as well as other internationally agreed outcomes for all.

The commemoration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2012 provides an opportunity to address this exclusion by focusing on promoting accessibility and removing all types of barriers in society.

How the Day may be observed

Based on the main theme of IDPD 2012 “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and
accessible society for all”, sub-themes can be selected to cover all aspects of society and development, including, but not limited to, removing barriers to education, employment, transportation, travel and tourism or sports. You can select a sub-theme to address a specific issue of exclusion and accessibility in your community.

Include: Observance of the Day provides opportunities for participation by all stakeholders – Governments, the UN system, civil society and organizations of persons with disabilities – to focus on issues related to the removal of barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society that would benefit all.

Organize: Hold forums, public discussions and information campaigns in support of the themes of IDPD 2012 to find innovative ways and means by which barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their families can be broken down.

Celebrate: Plan and organize performances everywhere to showcase - and celebrate - the contributions made by persons with disabilities as agents of change and development in the communities in which they live.

Take Action: A major focus of the Day is practical action that would help to remove barriers that limit accessibility for and participation by persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development.  Highlight progress and obstacles in creating accessible and inclusive society, including in terms of physical environments, information and communications technology and other areas, as well as promote public awareness of existing barriers to the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in their societies.

http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1597

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.

Deepavalli Dinner by Ministry of Human Resource V.Murugeswaran and M.Manoharan with YB Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib and Datuk Subramaniam

IT Class for Damai Members Conduct by University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) multimedia Students

MAJLIS PERASMIANKEMUDAHAN KHAS PELAJAR OKU Multimedia College Jalan Gurney Kiri, Kuala Lumpur

V.Murugeswaran Together with YBhg Dato Sri Dr. Halim Safie TM Chairmen and Puan Khaneeza Klalid Chief Executive College Multimedia TM

PENANG PORT ACCESS AUDIT WITH PANGKALAN RAJA TUN UDA (PRTU) AND PANGKALAN SULTAN ABDUL HALIM (PSAH), PULAU PINANG PADA 11 OKTOBER 2012

MUSIC VIDEO: Loud, Proud and Passionate! (sm)

02 October 2012 | last updated at 12:13AM

Preschools for special children welcomed

By HASHINI KAVISTHRI KANNAN | hashini@nst.com.my s

PILOT PROJECT: Government urged to provide qualified teachers for Taska OKU

1 / 1

KUALA LUMPUR: THE government's move to create better education opportunities and encourage the disabled towards self-sufficiency was realised  with the introduction of Taska OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) in the 2013 Budget.

Malaysian Council for Child Welfare vice-president Datuk Dr Raj Abdul Karim was gratified when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the setting up of preschools for mentally and physically challenged children, starting next year.

"This effort is welcomed by all, especially those from the special needs community," she said.

Najib, who is also finance minister, had announced in the Budget last Friday that the government would implement a pilot project called Taska OKU for six categories of disability -- Down's syndrome, autism, blind or partially sighted, hearing and speaking disabilities, physical disability and learning difficulties.

Dr Raj said the effort must also look into a special teaching syllabus for various disabilities.

"The Education Ministry must also work hand in hand with the Health Ministry to produce qualified teachers who can attend to the needs of the children.

"Therefore, there should be adequate capacity building, monitoring and training for these teachers."

National Parent-Teacher Association president Datuk Mohd Ali Hassan said these kindergartens should also be built in rural areas.

"The urban dwellers already have many facilities. The ones who are always left out of development are the people in the rural areas."

He said this effort would give the disabled a new lease of life, becoming productive individuals to aid the country's growth.

Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Federal Territory president Murugeswaran Veerasamy said special needs children would be an asset to the country if they were given the right guidance and encouragement.

"A kindergarten for disabled children is definitely a start for them to reach greater heights and the government's acknowledgement of this is lauded."

Murugeswaran said education was the only way for these children to build a brighter future for themselves in this challenging world.

"I hope the government will also look into extending this effort to the primary, secondary and tertiary level for these students."

Read more: Preschools for special children welcomed - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/preschools-for-special-children-welcomed-1.151320?fb_action_ids=536421026373462&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582#ixzz28d3xpMo6

PERUNTUKAN KEPADA ORANG KELAINAN UPAYA BAWA BERITA GEMBIRA

 Bernama Media 

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Sept (Bernama) -- Golongan Orang Kelainan Upaya (OKU)

menyatakan akan menggunakan dengan sebaiknya peruntukan besar disediakan untuk

mereka di bawah Belanjawan 2013 yang diumumkan Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Presiden Persatuan Orang Kurang Upaya Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan

Damai, V.Murugeswaran berkata pihaknya mengucapkan tahniah kepada kerajaan

kerana mewujudkan taska untuk OKU - sesuatu yang sepatutnya sudah lama

dilaksanakan.

"Dengan perkembangan terbaru ini, sekolah-sekolah berkenaan akan mesra OKU

dengan segala kemudahan sewajarnya berbanding situasi sekarang di mana tidak

banyak sekolah dilengkapi kemudahan berkenaan," kata beliau.

Murugeswaran mengulas mengenai Taska OKU untuk enam kategori orang kelainan

upaya - down sindrom, autisme, buta, pekak, cacat anggota dan kurang daya

belajar.

Sementara itu, Presiden Orthopaedically Handicapped Lim Khoon Chuan berkata

peruntukan itu perlu ditumpukan kepada terapi untuk OKU.

Perdana Menteri mengumumkan Program Kebajikan 1Malaysia (KAR1SMA) di bawah

Kementrian Pembangunana Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat akan diperuntuk RM1.2

bilion mengandungi program bantuan bagi warga emas, kanak-kanak dan pekerja

kelainan upaya serta untuk penyakit kroni

Allocation for disabled brings joy to NGOs

KUALA LUMPUR: Thankful and appreciative for the budget allocations for the disabled, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for the disabled applauded and congratulated the prime minister for not leaving out the disabled community.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the 1Malaysia Welfare Programme (KAR1SMA) under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to be allocated RM1.2 billion comprising assistance programmes for senior citizens, children and disabled workers as well as for chronic illnesses.

President of the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Federal Territory V. Murugeswaran said he was glad and thankful that the government allocated a substantial amount for the disabled.

"I am thankful that the government gave a huge amount to all the special people of Malaysia and we would certainly put it up for good use," he said.

Murugeswaran also commented on the OKU pre-school (TASKA OKU) for six categories of disabilities - down syndrome, autisme, the blind, deaf, physical disabilities and learning disabilities.

"The pre-school for disabled is something the government should have done a long time ago. With the latest development, these schools would be disabled friendly with all the facilities for the disabled compared to the current situation where not many schools are equipped with these facilities," he said.

Meanwhile, President of the Orthopaedically Handicapped Lim Khoon Chuan said the allocations should be focused on therapy for the disabled.

"Early intervention of children below the age of six can help improve their quality of life tremendously," he said.

BERNAMA

Read more: Allocation for disabled brings joy to NGOs - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/allocation-for-disabled-brings-joy-to-ngos-1.149859##ixzz27pYZEsun

Association gets RM73,000 to upgrade its facilities

BY K. ASHOK
metro@thestar.com.my Photo by Darran Tan

THE Damai Disabled Persons Association received a major boost when it received RM73,000 fron the International Wine and Food Society Kuala Lumpur.

The society’s three-year interest in the association has led to a major transformation for the latter in terms of utilities and transportation for the disabled.

The society’s secretary Datuk Jeremy Diamond said the funds would help see to the needs of the disabled.

“We are pleased to help the Damai Disabled Persons Association and the money will be used to upgrade their facilities,” he said

He said the funds were raised from a charity dinner held by the society annualy and where auctions were held.

Cash aid: Diamond (left) presenting a cheque to Murugeswaran.

Damai Disabled Persons Association president V. Murugeswaran said the funds would be fully utilised to improve the facility and for transportation for the disabled people.

“The cost of living has increased and without the public’s donation, we would be in dire straits,” he said.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/8/28/central/11852021&sec=central

Wine and food society donates RM73,000

PETALING JAYA: In an effort to help the less fortunate, the International Wine and Food Society Kuala Lumpur donated RM73,000 to the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Federal Territory.

Datuk Jeremy Diamond (left) presenting a cheque to V. Murugeswaran. Pic by Sugumaran Suppiah

 Association president V. Murugeswaran said  the  society had been contributing to the association's  cause since last year.

 "They choose two charitable organisations and help them for three years. We are privileged to have their assistance," said Murugeswaran.

 He added that RM54,500 of the amount will go towards the maintenance, fuel and toll charges for the  society's van as well as to pay  the driver's salary.

 "The rest will be given to our member, Pavithra Muthukumar, for a wheelchair and to support her stay in a nursing home."

 The donation was handed over  by International Wine and Food Society Kuala Lumpur honorary secretary Datuk Jeremy Diamond.

 Diamond also made a personal donation of RM2,760, which will be used to buy two wheelchairs.

 "Every year, we have a charity dinner in December and all our members contribute gifts and wines.

"These items are auctioned and the amount collected goes to two charitable organisations," Diamond said.

 "We help them for three years in any way we can," he added.

To date, the society has  donated  RM123,000 to the association.

Read more: Wine and food society donates RM73,000 - Letters to the Editor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/wine-and-food-society-donates-rm73-000-1.128705#ixzz24X3ZMCGD

NKRA project Bus Stop survey with MBSA