Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror

Malaysia, do we care enough?

It must be said that all the lip service by Malaysian leaders about a caring society is merely sweet nothings. Sweet to hear but nothing done. Our country, Malaysia, has a very poor record of managing and providing for the needs of disabled people, as it is. Often, we see people parking in spots reserved for the disabled, and most buildings are planned without taking into account the need for the disabled. Often, there is no specially designed and designated toilets for them. I was once confined to a wheelchair for a month after a severe track accident caused a badly fractured leg. I know how difficult it is to piss in a normal urinal when confined to a wheelchair, and getting around is no joke either.

Let us take the same context, but this time, under the circumstances of an earthquake. It was widely reported in Malaysia, of people running down the stairwells in fear during a recent earthquake that struck off Nias Island. What if you were in a wheelchair?

A fellow blogger needs our help

Peter Tan, a fellow blogger faced this problem recently. During the height of the quake, this blogger was posting entries. Through our conversations, he revealed that he was fearful yet felt helpless. It prompted him to write to the building manager, and request that an orderly evacuation plan be created, of course, taking into account the safe removal of the disabled.

He was branded a troublemaker. That’s caring Malaysians for you. With all the media hype about the quake, and disaster response, NOBODY bothered about the plight people like Peter Tan faced. His letters has gone largely ignored. His latest correspondence, copied to the Chief Minister of Penang, dated 30th March 2005, has so far produced nothing. So much for enlisting the help of public representatives. Frankly I am ashamed. [Link: Peter Tan's latest correspondence ]. It was written a day after I blogged about his plea. I made a promise to myself, and Peter, I intend to keep it.

Help make the difference

We all blog for different reasons. Amongst all those reasons, there lies one commonality, and that reason is to make a difference. It might not be a big difference, and it might even be to make a difference within our individual sphere of existence, by reaching out to each other. I write this to ask my readers, bloggers or otherwise, to help Peter Tan make a difference. Help him feel that he is not alone in his plight, and that his blogging, has allowed him to reach out to all of us, in support of his plea.

While there might be Malaysians might not bother what happens to Peter Tan, I do, and I am sure many of you share this feeling. Let us, as one voice, make it be heard that we support Peter Tan’s quest to feel safer at home. The last earthquake prompted many to relook at many issues, like the structural safety of our buildings and early warning systems. Why not this? It entails lives too.

Please place the banner you see in this entry on your blog sidebar, and if you can, please blog about this issue. Demand that the authorities pay more attention to the plight of the disabled.

Place this code in your blog

This is the code for you to place in your sidebar;

<a href=”http://www.brandmalaysia.com/movabletype/archives/2005/04/malays ia_-_the.html” ><img alt=”blogdemand.png” src=”http://www.brandmalaysia.com/movabletype/archives/blogdemand.png” ></a>

Anyone clicking on the small banner will be redirected to this post, so that they too may be privy to the plight that I have raised. If you do not blog, you may leave your comments here for the support of the plea. Demand Peter’s sanity and his safety, and those who need a little more caring than most.

Malaysians need to be more caring, and this does not mean caring for ourselves. Sometimes fate deals some of us a more challenging task. There is nothing wrong with extending a helping hand to these folks.

A bigger issue

It is hoped that this will lead to Peter Tan’s problem being seriously looked at. However, there is a bigger issue at hand and that issue has a lot to do with the way we Malaysians think of each other.

More to the point, it deals with how we think of those less fortunate than us. Let us not wait until rescuers pull out the bodies of disabled people, unable to fend for themselves in case of an emergency, before we urge the authorities to do something about it.

In a fire, what do you expect Peter to do?

Die?

Well, unless the fire rescue reaches him on time, or a good samaritan carries him down the stairwell, I was told that his options are limited.

Do we have anything remotely close to this? If not, then let us take a small step forward, and every journey begins with the first small one.