http://transitmy.org/

29 May 2011

D1301 Pelangi Utama
Jalan Masjid PJU6A
Petaling Jaya 47400

klangvalley.transit@gmail.com

Dear Editor

RE: SPAD inherits messy legacy from CVLB – should we be surprised?

The members of TRANSIT – Malaysia’s public transport forum, were not surprised to hear that the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board was not able to properly manage, regulate and enforce the land-based commercial and public transport industry in Malaysia.

After all, we had heard enough stories of CVLB not having enough enforcement officers, CVLB not able to act on certain bus companies because these companies were politically connected, CVLB not being able to enforce certain regulations because they did not have the legal authority, etc. Then there are other stories about which well-connected people were able to receive CVLB permits, what they did with those permits, etc.

But we are truly surprised to hear that SPAD representatives, on visiting the CVLB offices in January 2011 (after taking over the responsibility for land public transport in Peninsular Malaysia) discovered that files were strewn on the floor and the information system was totally mismanaged – an apparent and timely justification for the massive re-registration exercise that SPAD is forcing all commercial vehicle operators in Peninsular Malaysia to undergo.

We knew that there were problems within the CVLB. At the same time, we know that when a new organization comes in and takes over from a previous organization, sometimes there is a tendency to blame the troubles on the past, and a hope that the public will allow some time for the new organization to get adjusted.

In the USA they give their incoming presidents “100 Days” to get established. The concept has also been introduced into Malaysia.

But by any measure, SPAD (which started operating in September 2010) is well beyond its first “100 Days” – never mind that most of those days were spent on the MRT project – so why is it that we are only now hearing about the problems that SPAD has inherited?

TRANSIT has to ask some questions and we hope that SPAD will be forthcoming with detailed answers.

How were things at the Department of Railways (another organization folded into SPAD)?. After all, consider that since 2005 there have been many, many service disruptions on KTM, KTM Komuter, LRT & monorail services. In many cases passenger safety was definitely at risk as passengers alighted from trains and walked along the railways. In other cases, dangerous derailments of KTM trains disrupted rail service. In all cases, it appears that the Department of Railways has apparently not made public the results of any of their investigations (assuming these investigations were even carried out).

Also, can SPAD explain in a few short sentences what the purpose of the re-registration exercise is? It’s not that we do not agree with the re-registration – it is probably quite necessary given the massive restructuring that is needed in the commercial vehicle & land-public transport sectors. But we think that the public and the companies that are involved need to know and understand that by participating in the re-registration exercise, in a timely manner, they are contributing to build commercial vehicle and public transport sectors that are more organized and more efficient than before.

More organization & efficiency means better service for lower costs. Since everything is transported by a lorry at some point, a more efficient commercial vehicle industry means reduced transportation costs – which will lower the cost of food and commercial products. Similarly, a more organized and efficient public transport service means that transport costs for individual Malaysians can be reduced and service can be expanded – giving the public better access to economic and social activities.

Finally, we are also not quite surprised that some lorry operators and bus operators association leaders are already grumbling about the new expectations that SPAD has – complaining about the increased burden of paperwork and wondering why it is all necessary.

On one hand, we hope that these associations are spending as much time helping the operators that they represent to get through the exercise as they are complaining to the media. But on the other hand we understand why they are complaining – because they simply do not know what to expect for the future.

And that is why we want SPAD to share their vision for commercial and public transport in Malaysia. We are not asking to see their masterplans (as it seems that the KL Masterplan is not ready for viewing). We want to know how they plan to invigorate two moiribund sectors which have been on the verge of collapse for decades.In other words, what does SPAD want these sectors will look like when the transformation is finally finished and the “entrepreneurial” days are finally over?

Sincerely

Moaz Yusuf Ahmad
for TRANSIT

Benefits is one thing but I believe that disability is strongly linked with poverty, so the RM6,000 rebate that I am enjoying every year for income tax purposes will not affect poor disabled people. Nor will my exemption from car tax if I buy a locally made car etc.

The benefits is little compared to perhaps the Japanese insistence of not having beggars in their streets, hence USD1,000 a month allowance for their disabled people.

So briefly, what we have here is that people will not register because the benefits are too little and there is no incentives elsewhere. Like perhaps in the UK you get much more benefits including disabled stickers / badges for free parking and free public transportation after 9 am.

We have to deal with the registration in a bigger social and economic picture. I am still new about this topic but the gut feeling is that it is not just making it compulsory but making it economically and socially beneficial.

June 02, 2011 14:15 PM

Most Handicapped People Not Yet Registered With JKM

By Zulkiple Ibrahim

This is the final part of a two-part series on Persons With Disabilities (PWD)

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 (Bernama) — Fifty-year-old Abdul Rahim (not his full name) had both his legs amputated because of diabetes about a decade ago. Last year, the wheelchair-bound government retiree had his left hand amputated due to gangrene.

However, Abdul Rahim is not registered as a Person with Disabilities (PWD) with the Social Welfare Department. Consequently, he does not receive any benefit or assistance from the JKM (Social Welfare Department) for disabled people.

Why did he fail to register with the JKM?

“Nobody told me to do so. And I really don’t know about any form of assistance that is available from the government,” he said.

FAILURE TO REGISTER

The United Nations estimates that the number of persons with disabilities in Malaysia is about 2.8 million, or 10 per cent of its population of 28 million.

However, JKM statistics, as of August 2010, showed that only 313,685 PWD are registered with the department. This means there are several disabled people in the country who have not registered with JKM.

Since they are not registered, they cannot benefit from the provisions under the Persons with Disabilities Act.

“There are several cases like Abdul Rahim. Disabled people who fail to register lose many benefits, such as a monthly cash assistance of up to RM300, free hospitalisation in government hospitals, and assistance in getting prosthetic limbs to replace amputated limbs,” said a JKM officer who declined to be named.

LACK OF FACILITIES?

When the number of disabled people in a certain area is not known, the authorities are unable to make plans for them, such as providing special schools or classes for handicapped children and other disabled-friendly facilities.

The biggest challenge for the handicapped is getting jobs; the main obstacle to their efforts in this direction is the discrimination against them.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul jalil, the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, said disabled people have limited opportunities to obtain training, information, support and career guidance services.

“Society should change its attitude towards the disabled in order to help them get jobs,” she said during the celebrations of the 2010 World Day for the Handicapped in Kuala Lumpur.

She noted that the government needs to know the exact number of disabled people, their respective disabilities and the locations of their homes. These details were crucial for planning and implementing welfare programmes.

“They are required to provide the necessary facilities to meet their needs,” she added.

IN RURAL AREAS

Social activist Gurmukh Singh said that several disabled individuals, particularly those staying in rural areas, are yet to register themselves with the JKM.

“First, they do not know the existence of any assistance from the government. Second, they do not know the procedure of how to receive such assistance.”

For instance, he said disabled people are often unaware that they need a doctor’s medical report before they can register themselves.

“The medical report is important since it verifies that the person is handicapped,” he noted.

In other cases, handicapped individuals might not stay near a JKM office, which also deters them from registering.

“In order to get the assistance of the government, a disabled person must be registered first. Family members should offer advice and help them to do so,” added Gurmukh Singh.

– BERNAMA

As a reference, I was quoted in an article before in Berita Harian (see below) and someone in their blog referred to the article. Other links on masalah OKU.

Penarafan IPT wajar ambil kira prasarana pelajar istimewa

Oleh Ratinawati Rasidi
ratinawati@bharian.com.my
2010/07/31

Hak Cipta Terpelihara 2010 – Berita Harian Sdn. Bhd. Emel kami sebarang maklum balas.    Kembali ke atas

Resolusi paparan terbaik untuk laman web ini adalah 1024×768

KUALA LUMPUR 16 Mei – Kerajaan komited mempertingkatkan semua prasarana bagi keperluan orang kurang upaya (OKU) selaras dengan usaha menjadikan Malaysia sebagai negara maju menjelang 2020.

Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil berkata, ini termasuk menaik taraf kemudahan pengangkutan awam seperti stesen transit aliran ringan (LRT), stesen bas dan komuter agar lebih mesra OKU.

Menurut beliau, untuk itu, pihaknya akan bekerjasama dengan Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) bagi memastikan perancangan tersebut berjalan lancar.

“Mesyuarat hari ini telah membentangkan beberapa laporan dan saya berpuas hati dengan kemajuan dan perancangan yang dilakukan oleh beberapa anggota tetap.

“Ini termasuk Kementerian Pengangkutan dalam menyediakan prasarana terutama pengangkutan awam untuk OKU bagi memastikan keselesaan mereka,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Kebangsaan Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU), di sini hari ini.

Majlis yang ditubuhkan di bawah Akta OKU itu dianggotai beberapa kementerian bertujuan menentukan dasar dan polisi untuk membantu golongan berkenaan.

Sehingga kini, bilangan OKU yang mendaftar di Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) adalah berjumlah 325,189 orang berbanding 283,512 tahun lepas.

Shahrizat berkata, dalam memastikan masa depan golongan tersebut terjamin, pihaknya akan mewujudkan pasukan khas bagi meneliti secara terperinci isu yang menjadi halangan kepada kemajuan pendidikan khas dan intervensi awal yang akan diketuai Ketua Setiausaha kementerian, Datuk Dr. Noorul Ainur Mohd. Nur.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya akan mengesyorkan kepada Kementerian Pelajaran langkah-langkah positif yang boleh diambil untuk membantu meningkatkan keupayaan golongan OKU bermula dari bangku sekolah.

Malah, tegasnya, kementerian juga akan bekerjasama dengan Kementerian Sumber Manusia bagi memastikan lebih ramai OKU diserapkan dalam alam pekerjaan memandangkan ada dalam kalangan mereka yang mempunyai potensi dan kelayakan akademik.

“Bagaimanapun cabaran paling getir adalah untuk mengubah pemikiran majikan, keluarga dan OKU itu sendiri supaya lebih positif terhadap potensi mereka,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Setiausaha Bahagian Perancangan dan Penyelidikan, Kementerian Pengangkutan, Mustapha Zainuddin berkata, pihaknya akan mengeluarkan pelekat yang mempunyai nombor siri sebagai pengenalan kepada kenderaan OKU bermula pertengahan Jun depan selain garis panduan reka bentuk bas yang lebih mesra OKU.

Buat masa ini, pihaknya telah menaik taraf 100 bas selain 12 stesen komuter dan lima stesen LRT di sekitar Lembah Klang.

There is a same case happened to a deaf lady in Ipoh last year. Her employer accused her damaging a machine and forced her to pay back. Her uncle come to assist and the case was bought forward to JTK and we Malaysian Federation of the Deaf provide sign language interpreter service.

The deaf girl won the case and the employer was penalised because violating  Employee Act and had to pay fine plus compensation to  her in installment.

I am posing this question of what the Act can do to create changes.

I wonder if we can claim compensation based on the Akta OKU 2008 as well. Of course we had been saying that its an enabling act and not a discrimination act, but anyone have any opinions on this.

Or the Akta OKU 2008 can instigate other acts in the court of law or on making grounds for compensation. There are many different cases of course. Like in the case of the deaf girl highlighted by Sazali, the case should be put forward to the Majlis to do something to the Employee Act if the case in court was deemed unsatisfactory.

Or is there a way to refer to the Majlis (Council) to instigate for compensation? It is perceived that the Majlis is the main tool of this Act (to have teeth), ie instigating for changes to other acts and creating policies and acts.

Acts are medium of change, and to what extent can the Act create changes and to effect these changes can be made.

At the Universal Design Committee of the Majlis, we discussed about the Uniform Building By-Law 34A and the function of the local authority. Actually the UBBL under the Streets, Drainage and Building Act is one thing but the Principal Submitting Person (CF change to CCC) who is now the architect and the engineer who are under the Architect Act and the Engineer Act respectively are the ones responsible for the building to comply to UBBL 34A. So now the power of how accessible buildings / development will be actually falls under the Architect Act and the Engineer Act! If we are seeking compensation, can we address these acts? (for example)

Just for further discussion and action.

We need Universal Design Consultant because :

The Universal Design Consultant must be a professional from these professions: architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects and other related professions such as building surveyors and interior designer. On the other hand, the Universal Design Facilitator is a non-professional.

The Universal Design Consultant must be competent and skillful in the following:

The scope of work of a Universal Design Consultant involves the following:

We fight.

Because Malaysia is a welfare state. The decision is top down.

We fight because we are not an Ultimate Consumer Society like Japan, where a business would be terribly embarrassed if they did not serve the disabled people properly; or where in the United Kingdom, although is welfare oriented (with Labour government and its history) is enforcement-oriented, so it balances out ; or in the USA with its system of justice that is based on rights where there is recourse for discrimination.

Yes, we fight in the Majlis Kebangsaan Akta OKU 2008, we fight with the backing of our NGOs and without the backing of our NGOs as individuals. We now cite the Akta OKU 2008, the Uniform Building By Law 34A, other state laws, circulars, policies, guidelines, the Convention on the Rights of Disabled People which we ratified. We fight because we must.

Therefore FIGHT is a good word. Is the only word, in the charity based society such as ours to get our goals of Barrier-Free 1Malaysia .

Job coach and training comes to mind. Often, employers will want their new employees to be already trained and ready to do the job. They would prefer to take care of other businesses rather than train. However, bigger companies do spend time and money on training. They would also employ disabled people as a Corporate Social Responsibility effort.

In my opinion this article suggests the latest perceptions regarding Employment for Disabled People. Although the DPM tries hard to explain in the context of the PLUS cashiers, I would hasten to add that in certain circumstances, it would not be suitable for some disabled people as the job hazards may include having to deal with a demanding public when things do not work, like the barriers are not lifting and so on, or some driver is a bully.

It would be more ideal for disabled people to work in McDonalds or department stores in this respect.

Another aspect is the longevity or long term employment of disabled people. There must be a job coach or human resource managers going through some courses on how to handle disabled people.

‘Disabled will gain from work plan’
Sunday, 21 November 2010 10:49am
©The New Straits Times (Used by permission)
By Maizatul Ranai

KUALA LUMPUR: The call by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to retrain and redeploy able-bodied workers received differing views from various quarters.

The Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan welcomed the move, which he said was timely to boost the employment market in the country.

“We are well aware that the employment rate in Malaysia is low and the market is quite tight at the moment. Retraining and redeploying them would help spur the growth.”

On Thursday, Muhyiddin called for able-bodied people doing work such as manning a ticket booth, to be retrained and channelled to sectors in dire need of manpower.

He said jobs which required less physical effort or exertion could be filled by the disabled or pensioners.

Shamsuddin said the move could boost employment rate among the disabled as they would be able to fill vacancies left by the able-bodied workers.

“For instance, there is no reason to get young people to man booths. If we employ a disabled person in that position, they would be able to perform equally well,” he said, adding that the able-bodied workers capabilities could be utilised in more physically demanding sectors.

He said giving the disabled opportunities in such jobs could help increase the lack of employment among them in the country, which was at a worrying stage.

Citing a statistics from International Labour Organisation, he said only two per cent in any given nation consisted of disabled people, and in Malaysia it made up about 500,000 people from 28 million population.

He said only 283,000 of them registered as disabled while only 4,000 were employed.

“That works out to only four per cent, which is sad compared with developed nations,” he said, adding that in the United States, among the 15.6 million disabled people, 34 per cent were employed.

He said employers should also be made aware of the incentives they would receive, such as tax exemptions and expenditure claims, when they hire disabled people.

“If they make special office equipment for them, they can also claim tax relief for that.”

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud expressed reservations.

He said certain criteria must be met before implementing it.

“This has to be done in an integrated manner.”

He said steps needed to be taken to ensure that there would be no exploitation among the parties involved or no one should be affected by the move.

“We need to employ as many people as we can. But at the same time, we need to give adequate training and retraining so that the workers can carry out their jobs effectively.”

He said when it comes to hiring disabled people, the pay distribution should also be equal.

In the area of Employment, it has been long established that employers will need to employ 1% of disabled employees. Bigger companies have been doing this, Carrefour and Digi, for example. The employment stats are too revealing. Very few disabled people (compared to the national average) are employed.The reflection is almost the same as the number of registered disabled persons in the country ie less than 1%, and United Nations numbers are from 6% to 10% of the population. So it is not a surprise to find stories of disabled people being unemployed although they have the skills.

I visited a factory/office in Penang’s Free Trade Zone a few years back on the invitation of the HR Manager who was a school friend. She kindly showed me the facilities and told me that they employed disabled people and so on. There were many access features, but I noted quietly that the toilet was far away from the disabled staff members and that not all the ramps were independently negotiable. I mentioned to my friend in passing at that time.Maybe I should visit there again to find out the situation.

However, I could imagine a “lonely” working life for the wheelchair users in that factory/office. So, it was not with surprise, when my friend told me that a disabled employee quit the job after a few months. I see no reason for them to quit (as the facilities looks great) except those little things that they have to deal with (which became more problematic as time progressed) and how it would be easy not to have lunch or meet other staff members due to barriers in the workplace. Another thing is that they are not ‘managers’ but just workers, so the support is less for them. Of course, my assertions have to be met by facts, but I am assuming these problems based on my “role-playing technique”.

Today, we have the Government issuing a statement about employment for disabled people again (see newspaper article below). The Deputy Prime Minister stated that, “We have requested the relevant ministries and agencies to find out why these trained and qualified people are not in the market. They may be at home.”

Disabled activist may cry out loud, “Of course we know why they are not in the market and at home! There are no proper transportation and places at work is not accessible!” And I would also add, no support services to boot.

However, the point here is for “the ministries and agencies to find out for themselves”. It is always the case. Many disabled activists would point out or reiterate that there was a conference or a seminar done on this already years ago or that they told the ministries and agencies about it and so on. But in Malaysia, how it is done is always top-down. We must accept that we are a welfare state or the citizens will only get the goods and services from a top-down instruction. We must realise it and work within this situation. Finally, I have to say this.

No matter what the politicians say, it is the statement of that time. They may talk about “Japan” but we are so far away from Japan as it is the ultimate Consumer Society, but we are not. We are a Welfare State. Maybe we should look at Taiwan more or some countries which is a welfare state like us.

>>>>>>>>

November 18, 2010 17:05 PM

Government To Fill Vacancies With Unemployed Women, Disabled And Retirees – Muhyiddin

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 18 (Bernama) — The government is to identify trained and qualified people from among unemployed women and the disabled and retirees to fill vacancies in the country’s employment sector, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Thursday.

These people would be absorbed into the services, either in the public or private sectors, depending on their capabilities, he said.

“We have requested the relevant ministries and agencies to find out why these trained and qualified people are not in the market. They may be at home.

“We may be able to get them to meet the human resources needs in the sectors which we have identified,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital Development, here.

Muhyiddin said some services did not require vacancies, such as toll plaza clerks, to be filled by able-bodied people.

“In developed countries such as Japan, retirees or the disabled are engaged in such jobs. If some of these vacancies can be filled by the disabled, the existing manpower can be shifted to other sectors, and this will not jeopardise productivity and such,” he said.

Muhyiddin said this would help overcome the shortage of skilled manpower.

He also said that under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the government would have to make available a workforce of 3.3 million to develop the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) in the effort to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation.

He said Thursday’s meeting discussed the need for the lead ministries of the NKEAs to study in detail the respective areas to be developed, the ETP to be implemented and the employment opportunities to be generated.

“They have been asked to identify the manpower needs in the various fields in each NKEA … when they would be needed over the next 10 years. More importantly, they have to consider how to fill the manpower needs … the trained workforce in all fields,” he said.

Muhyiddin also said that the government agreed to have the establishment of the National Wages Council expedited once Cabinet approval has been obtained.

“Only the membership of the council has to be decided upon. The matter will be brought to the Cabinet in December, and it (the council) will be formally established,” he said.

The other photo is at Jaya One, PJ where the chairs from a nearby restaurant is stored on the ramp. Of course this unusable ramp (where there is a hump at the top) can be used assisted, but now it cannot be use at all. Jaya One has slackened on their commitment to provide accessibility for disabled people as I found many abuse of disabled car parks now. Where is your Corporate Social Responsibility Amcorp Mall and Jaya One.