Advocates work to make things better for disabled people in Malaysia

From The Star in Malaysia:

Being born with sight and hearing impairment did not take away James Chua Tuan Sek’s optimism.

In the self-introduction of contributors to the Challenges magazine, Chua wrote: “I have always been of the view that we are all unique individuals in spite of our diverse disabilities and we should make lemonade when lemons get thrown at us (I use quite a lot of lemon juice in my salad dressing!).”

Describing himself as noisy and inquisitive, Chua, 26, credits three factors for his positive disposition.

“I am very blessed to have a loving, supportive family and close friends who believe in me. Having a great sense of humour also helps and cooking is therapeutic,” he said via e-mail.

A sub-editor with a publishing firm, Chua has a bit of residual hearing and can see with his left eye.

His mother contracted German measles (rubella) when she was pregnant with him. However, Chua counts his blessings as many babies affected by rubella suffer total deafness, blindness or heart defects, or a combination of all three.

Chua has been contributing to Challenges since its inception. Last year, one of his dreams came true when he won the 2008 Mercedes Benz Red Ribbon National Media Award in Journalism (English print magazine category) for an article on HIV/AIDS.

“For someone who has yearned to make an impact through writing (I have dreamt of getting an award for my writing since young), receiving the award was completely beyond my dreams.

“To give a PWD a national-level award that recognises his or her excellence in media reporting is almost impossible to believe,” he said.

He added that receiving the award was a validation of his existence as a person with special needs.

“At the same time, I am very proud to represent our special community. It just goes to show that with the right support and attitude from the public, we can make our voices heard.”

Through his writing, Chua hopes to make readers understand why disability issues pertaining to the deaf such as employment, transport, interpretation and cheaper assistive aids are very important.

“If a reader comes away from my article wanting to learn more about sign language, what he or she can do for our community, or have a greater understanding of the deaf culture, my job is done,” he said.

Lack of understanding from people about his hearing condition is one of the things that frustrate Chua.

“There have been countless times when people kept talking to me even though I could not understand them. When I explained and asked them to write down what they wanted to say on paper or via SMS, they still resorted to calling me on my handphone, or continued talking to me on the spot.

“It is very frustrating because even with my hearing aid, I am not able to hear everything as I depend heavily on lip-reading, and not all people are easy to lip-read.”

He added that he also has to endure ugly stares whenever he signs to his fellow deaf friends.

“I am very comfortable talking in sign language, just like a Chinese is comfortable with Mandarin or Cantonese, or a Malay with Bahasa Malaysia. Respect our language the same way I respect yours.”

Chua feels the most pressing disability issue at present pertains to employment.

“For too long, we have been sidelined with simple, low-paying jobs that do not match our qualifications and talents,” said Chua, who has a degree in Mass Communications, majoring in film and television, and journalism.

“It is such a shame because I have met so many intelligent PWDs who have studied very hard and want good-paying jobs. It just breaks my heart to hear that some deaf graduates find it hard to get an understanding boss and well-paid jobs despite getting good results,” he said, expressing his gratitude to his present employer for giving him his job and equal benefits as his colleagues.

The failure of the public in understanding the potential of the disabled also disappoints Moses Choo (pictured).

“In fact, that is the cause of the disabled not being able to go forward,” he said via email.

Choo should know, having been in the corporate sector for over 20 years before quitting to become assistant executive director of the National Council for the Blind in 2002.

Needless to say, Choo, 53, is keen to see more PWDs gainfully employed.

A well-known techie, Choo contributes to Challenges and strives to explore devices and solutions to improve communication and quality of life for the blind community.

Which has been the most useful gadget developed for the blind so far?

“Frankly, I think the Screen Reader (a software that reads out what is on a PC screen) has been the most important invention. With this, most blind persons are able to use a computer.

“Soon after that was the invention of the Screen Reader for mobile phones. That has also certainly changed the lives of the blind,” said Choo, who has very low vision due to a congenital eye condition.

He added that certain screen readers such as Jaws and Window-Eyes also have a function that will translate text on the screen and have it displayed on a Braille device.

As a person with disability, Choo feels that one key issue is the lack of clout in the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008.

The Act has no penalties nor sanctions against any party that does not live up to its obligations. In fact, it has a provision that prohibits any party from taking action against the Federal Government for failing to fulfil its obligations to the disabled group.

“After spending so many years formulating the disability act, it is still not strong enough to make things work,” said Choo.