The Star newspaper - Opinion Section - Have a heart for the disabled

MOTHER’S Day is supposed to be a joyous occasion but reading your report “Son wants probe on mum’s amputation” (The Star, May 12) on the inability of the amputee’s family to take care of her breaks my heart.

My mother suffered a debilitating stroke years ago and it is indeed an uphill struggle to take care of her and my aging father at the same time.

What makes things worse is the existence of improperly designed infrastructure as well as the public perception which does not take the elderly or the physically challenged people into consideration.

Generally speaking, infrastructure in Malaysia, be it buildings, roads or even sidewalks, are not disable or elderly-friendly. Not only does it inhibit the mobility of the disabled person but also care-givers. There are many
examples which I can draw upon but some of the most serious ones include the absence of wheelchair tracks, tracks barely wide enough to turn a wheelchair in and those without side bars.

As for the general public, there are sympathetic and helpful people who go out of their way to help the unfortunate ones, but there are also others who couldn’t care less.

Everyone will eventually age or fall sick, so please be courteous to those who are not as fortunate as you are and it is hoped that our Government will take the lead to improve the infrastructure.

CIPLAK,

Penang.

Published on: Friday, May 14, 2010


ORIGINAL VERSION

Be courteous to everyone

Mother’s Day is supposed to be a joyous occasion but looking at recent newspaper report (Son wants probe on mum's amputation; Wednesday May 12, 2010) on the inability of families taking care of their disabled mother breaks my heart.

My mother suffers from debilitating stroke years ago and it is indeed an uphill struggle to take care of her and my aging father at the same time.

To compound to this struggle is the existence of improperly designed infrastructure as well as perception from the general public, which does not take the elderly or the mobility challenged people into consideration.

Generally speaking, infrastructures in Malaysia , be it buildings, roads and even the side walks are not disable or elderly friendly. It does not only inhibit the mobility of the disabled person but also the caregivers. There are many examples which I can draw upon but some of the most acute ones would be absence of wheelchair tracks, tracks barely wide enough to turn, those without side bars, or too steep even to the person pushing from the back.

As for the general public, there are sympathetic and helpful people who go all the way to help the unfortunate ones, but there are some without conscience in their act and manner. There is no clear line to draw upon in this matter but it is surprising to see how intolerant we have warped in this supposedly fast paced environment.

Everyone will eventually age or fall sick, so please be courteous to those who are not as fortunate as you are and it is hoped that our government will take the lead to improve on the infrastructures moving forward.

CIPLAK, Georgetown

Sent on: 12 May 2010