Govt urged to be more sensitive to the needs of PwD

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to be more sensitive to the needs of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) especially regarding the cost of living, job opportunities, access to public or commercial buildings, as well as transportation, which require an integrated action to meet the acceptable standards.

Senator Ras Adiba Radzi, president of OKU Sentral, a non-governmental organisation that fights for the rights of the PwD, said all these aspects, should be the catalyst to the success of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

“I call on the government to always place importance and focus on the disabled community because there are so many things that need to be done to ensure a better life for them.

“The existing PwD Act 2008 should be amended to be more comprehensive, hence fulfilling Malaysia’s responsibilities in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as well as enhancing the enforcement mechanisms,” said Ras Abida, who is also chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency in a statement here today.

In conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, Ras Adiba said she would submit several proposals to the government to empower the disabled community in Malaysia, including to overcome unemployment issues among the PwD, and to achieve the objective of the policy to have one per cent PwD workers in the public sector.

Meanwhile, Ras Adiba said the Social Welfare Department (JKM) statistics as of October showed that 581,265 PwD had registered with the department, proving that the community was capable of giving a significant impact to the society.

“Malaysia is one of the countries committed to ratifying the CRPD. There are approximately 4.7 million PwD yet to register out there and I call for the campaign to register the PwD be intensified to have them and their family members registered with JKM,” she said.

Under Budget 2021, several initiatives to empower the PwD were announced, including the increase of monthly allowance for unemployed PwD from RM250 to RM300, for employed PwD from RM400 to RM450 and for PwD care from RM350 to RM500.

-- BERNAMA