Malaysian government official says accessibility laws must be enforced

From Bernama:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The disabled are finding the environment increasingly unfriendly, no thanks to a wonderful law which glaringly lacks proper enforcement.

Their movement is barricaded by a lack of public awareness, no proper enforcement by local authorities and a glaring absence of standard guidelines in building disabled-friendly infrastructures.

These were among encumbrances that need to be addressed to facilitate the accessibility of a disabled person, said Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

Expressing displeasure towards the snail-pace progress in creating a barrier-free environment, she said:

"A wonderful law without proper enforcement cannot create a disabled-friendly environment...a lack of cooperation from the local authorities would make it almost impossible to create a barrier-free environment.

"This is because local authorities, such as district officers and Majlis Bandaraya, have their own jurisdiction, their right to make their own laws and to actually plan their budget," she said.

Chew said this at a news conference after opening the National Conference on Accessibilty and Universal Design: Implications for Public Transport and the Built Environment here on Monday.

She also pointed out that there were no parallel and clear policies regarding the standard required in building disabled-friendly infrastructures, making it difficult for building owners to provide appropriate facilities for the disabled.

"For example, JKR (public works department) has its own specs (specifications) for pavement and walkways that differ from the Malaysian standard. So, there's a need to standardise," she said.

Chew noted that a lack of awareness might have caused infrastructures built for the disabled to be abused and misused by the public.

She also urged the corporate sector to do its part in renovating their buildings, especially those in public areas such as shopping complexes, business centres and office areas to be more disabled-friendly.

The two-day conference, beginning March 1, would discuss improvement of accessibility and incorporation of universal design principles to public transport, among others.