Ramai orang tahu bahawa Akta Orang Kurang Upaya 2008 telah diluluskan di Parlimen Malaysia serta telah di perkenan Diraja dan diwartakan sebagai Akta 685.
Saya telah melibatkan diri bersama-sama rakan OKU secara serius dalam perjuangan Akta tersebut. Idea Akta OKU itu dibentang oleh Encik Mah Hassan dari SBM di mesyuarat Majlis Penasihat Kebangsaan Kesejahteraan OKU yang dipengerusikan oleh YB Datuk Dr. Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, Menteri Pembangunan dan Kebajikan Masyarakat pada masa itu.
Akta tersebut telah derafkan oleh sepasukan peguam OKU iaitu En Mah Hassan dan Encik Tuah Atan. Deraf Akta tersebut telah bahaskan dan diperkuatkan melalui beberapa bengkel, persidangan dan sebagainya di seluruh negara.
Saya masih ingat semasa saya menjadi Presiden MCD, JK kami ada mengaturkan bengkel Akta OKU di MAKPEM dan pada tahun 2002 semua organisasi OKU telah bersatu menganjurkan program Walk With Us iaitu program kesedaran Akta OKU dari Dataran Merdeka ke Maju Junction, Kuala Lumpur.
Akta tersebut juga telah mendapat perhatian serius oleh kerajaan Malaysia dan pihak JKMM telah mengambil usaha untuk menguatkan Akta tersebut dengan memurnikannya, membuat Dasar OKU serta Pelan Tindakan.
Pada tahun 2007, MFD telah menghantar memorandum pengiktirafan BIM sebagai bahasa rasmi orang Pekak di Malaysia kepada YB Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil Menteri Wanita, Keluarga dan Pembangunan Masyarakat di Parlimen.
Rentetan dari itu juga Akta OKU telah di bentangkan di parlimen buat pertama kali, di baca kali kedua dan kemudian dibahas dan diluluskan. Setelah diluluskan juga YB Menteri telah mencadangkan perlantikan Senator dari kalangan OKU iaitu YB Datuk Profesor Dr. Ismail Salleh sebagai OKU pertama.
Langkah seterusnya ialah menubuhkan Ahli Majlis OKU untuk memastikan peruntukan dalam Akta di ikuti dan dihormati. Saya juga telah diberikan penghormatan oleh YB Datuk Dr. Ng Yen Yen Menteri Wanita, Keluarga dan Pembangunan Masyarakat untuk menduduki Majlis OKU tersebut yang terdiri dari pelbagai agensi termasuk Peguam Negara, Kementerian Pengajian, Kesihatan, Pengangkutan, Penerangan, Perumahan dan Kerajaan tempatan dan sebagainya.
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Rights of disabled people to be taken care of BY LOONG MENG YEE. The STAR.
THE Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 has been gazetted and came into force on July 7. This is the first rights-based legislation for people with disabilities (PWD).“With the enforcement of the Act, PWDs will be able to enjoy better public transport facilities, amenities and services.“They will also have equal opportunities to health, education, information, communication and technology, habilitation and re-habilitation, improved employment opportunities as well as sports, leisure and cultural life,” said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.“At this point, it is too early for us to assess the effectiveness of the Act.“Issues affecting the development and well-being of PWDs are cross- cutting, from rehabilitation to housing and social safety.“Therefore, the responsibility to ensure the PWDs enjoy the rights enshrined in the Act has to be shared by all.
Fight for our rights: Dr Ng (fourth from right) and the rest of the team in the National Council for the People with Disabilities. “The ministry and the National Council for Persons with Disabilities established under this Act will have to play a crucial role to address and bring foward issues affecting PWDs,” said Dr Ng at the first council meeting recently.
She added the council would oversee, co-ordinate and evaluate the implementation of the National Policy and National Plan for Action relating to PWDs.
Dr Ng said Malaysia had moved from charity-based to rights-based to address the issues affecting PWDs. The Department of Social Welfare was committed to the cause of ensuring full participation of PWDs into society.
“The department had introduced rights-based programmes such as Disability Equality Training and Independent Living to PWDs.
“Community-based rehabilitation is promoted and further strengthened to provide early intervention, rehabilitation and training for PWDs in their own community.
“So far, the welfare department supports 379 community-based rehabilitation centres, benefiting 12,000 PWDs,” said Dr Ng.
Until May, there were 229,325 PWDs registered with the Welfare Department.
This figure was way too low for the World Health Organisation estimate of between 5% and 10% of the population.
Going by that estimate, Malaysia should be registering 1.3 to 2.6 million PWDs. Dr Ng urged those who had not registered to do so.
