Its president, V. Murugeswaran, said the process, which required a disabled person to produce a certificate signed by the head of a private charity organisation registered with the Social Welfare Department, only compounded the difficulties faced by the OKU.
"This is a burdensome process. They (the government) have to understand, if an OKU does not have his own transport, he is forced to ask for help and people at times do not help out," he said.
Murugeswaran, with both legs disabled, said because of the complicated procedure, the OKU have no choice but to pay market prices for equipment.
"It is easier to pay the GST than go through such a difficult process to get the relief, because the process itself will make us fork out more in terms of transport costs," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Among the items granted GST relief were artificial limbs, wheelchairs, electrically or mechanically adjustable beds designed for the physically disabled, Braille embossers, text telephones for the speech impaired, whistling cups and white canes for the visually impaired, specialised footwear and hearing and low-vision aids.
Additionally, Murugeswaran said GST relief was granted for tools and equipment which could be used for the long term but did not ease the burden of those who were low-income earners.
"I am an OKU who uses a wheelchair and if I buy it today, maybe I can use it for life if I take care of it.
"The GST relief is only for items such as these, what about OKU's daily necessities that are not given exemptions? For example, OKU with spinal injuries need adult diapers as they have lost their ability to control their urinating and bowel movements.
"So I want to ask, are these items exempted from GST?"
He also said the RM300 monthly allocated by Putrajaya to the low-income OKU could be considered to be “taken back” by the government after daily necessities were taxed under GST.
"Most of the OKU are from the lower-income group. The government is rich, but OKU like us are poor.
“The Customs Department should not remain silent until OKU protest.
"They should meet up with the OKU regularly. Just issuing media statements will not solve the problem.”
Pusat Jagaan OKU Nur manager Normah Adlan said the procedure required to claim the tax relief was a hassle.
She said the procedure was difficult and would cause OKU or their minders to give up trying to get the relief.
"We are disappointed with the various procedures. We have to apply repeatedly to get what we want and the Welfare Department will ask us to wait for the answer to the status of our application.”
Citing the purchase of wheelchairs as an example, Normah said they had to go through a troublesome procedure to enjoy 50% off the market price under the GST system.
"In the end, I went and brought the wheelchairs for them at market price," she said, referring to the residents at her privately run home for the elderly and disabled, adding that the cheapest wheelchair cost about RM600.
She said such a process was an additional burden to the minders of OKU.
"We are looking after them, it is not easy to carry them and send them to the hospital or other places.
“Not only OKU are burdened, even the non-OKU are burdened as well," said Normah, adding that 90% of the 50 people in her home were OKU.
Customs Department GST director Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy said recently all tools and equipment for people with disabilities have been granted relief from GST.
However, he said to be eligible for the GST relief, the OKU must produce a certificate signed by the head of a private charity organisation registered with the Social Welfare Department, even though they already had their OKU cards.
Kinrara assemblyman Ng Sae Han said many OKU were unclear over the GST exemptions for items meant for the group.
He also questioned the procedures which he described as burdensome. – May 17, 2015.