A group of about 50 people with disabilities staged a demonstration today to demand the abolishment of the Persons With Disabilities (PWD) Act 2008, and its replacement with a Disability Discrimination Act.
“We want change from having a toothless PWD Act to an effective Disability Discrimination Act, and a commission with full enforcement power to make the rights real,” said V Murugeswaran, spokesperson for the Harapan OKU movement.
He was among a group of 50 who gathered at the Taman Jaya park in Petaling Jaya to demand better protections and rights for people with disabilities.
Even though the PWD Act has been around for 10 years, Murugeswaran said, it has failed to uplift the disabled community.
“Ten years since Malaysia signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD). Ten years since Malaysia enacted the PWD Act.
“We persons with disabilities in this country are still struggling to experience the true meaning of independence,” he added.
‘PWD Act just an administrative document’
The PWD Act, Murugeswaran stressed, merely serves as an administrative document with no enforcement powers, as the national council serves as a coordinating body to implement a national policy on persons with disabilities.
He added that the there is no compulsion for ministries or agencies to comply with the act.
In calling for the Disability Discrimination Act, Harapan OKU are aiming for strong punitive measures to ensure their rights are protected and they are not discriminated against.
To further enforce this proposed act, Murugeswaran said, the group also wants the establishment of a commission with the authority to enforce the act, and to monitor and ensure implementation in all sectors.
Harapan OKU also called for Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution to be amended to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability.
Ratify CPRD
The group also urged the government to ratify the optional protocol to the CRPD, and withdraw its previous reservations to Articles 15 and 18 of the convention.
Article 15 states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
Article 18, meanwhile, pertains to freedom of movement and nationality.
Murugeswaran said their requests have been submitted to Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who has agreed to meet the group on July 9.
In a symbolic gesture at the end of their gathering, the participants crumpled up papers bearing the words ‘Persons With Disablities Act 2008’, threw it into a metal rubbish can set it on fire.
“Make the rights real, we love Malaysia,” they chanted. -Mkini
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