While Kuala Lumpur boasts extensive tactile paving for the visually impaired, challenges persist. Two citizens with visual impairment recently documented the obstructions they faced during their daily walking routine to get to work in Brickfields.
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00:00While Kuala Lumpur boasts extensive tactile paving for the visually impaired,
00:08challenges persist.
00:10Armed with a GoPro, 34-year-old Hafian Lali documented the numerous obstructions
00:16he faced during his daily walking routine to get to work in Brickfields.
00:20He was accompanied by his colleague, 48-year-old Abian Jambud,
00:24and they say they really need a clear path to reduce the risk of getting injured.
00:30I face difficulties, obstacles, you know, obstruction almost every single day.
00:35Even though we have the facilities,
00:36the thing is people don't seem to be aware that it's a facility for the PWDs,
00:42persons with disabilities, especially for the visually impaired on the tactile pavement.
00:46And yeah, people tend to get hurt.
00:47Sometimes I even bruise myself when I run into a motorcycle,
00:53the handlebar, you know, some part of the motorcycle.
00:57One time I did almost topple over a baby stroller
01:01when the parent put a baby stroller right on the tactile pavement with the baby inside.
01:27This has been suggested before so that we can empty the footpaths and so on,
01:33but it is not easy.
01:35Maybe due to lack of awareness or lack of awareness of the public.
01:41They face obstacles like tables, chairs,
01:43and customers queuing for snacks from roadside vendors on public walkways.
01:48In some areas, tactile blocks are obstructed by vehicles,
01:52with at least 30% of them being damaged for the complicating their journey.
01:58What can be better is the facilities.
02:03I'm referring to the tactile pavement, the elevator, the escalator.
02:06All those parts should be clear of any obstruction.
02:09No one abuse those facilities.
02:12So number one amendment of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 to empower it,
02:17to make it not only simply as a document.
02:20We want it to be a really empowered legal document that can really back us up in any action
02:26whenever we voice up against anyone who violates any of the provisions within the Act.
02:31Malaysian Association for the Blind Chief Executive Officer, Datuk George Thomas,
02:35agreed that city councils, developers, architects, and building owners
02:40must incorporate the MS1184 Code of Practice to ensure accessibility for everyone,
02:46not just persons with disabilities.
02:49Why this should be done is because you want everybody to be independent.
02:54You don't want the blind to be dependent on somebody
02:57to make him move from one place to another place.
03:00I would think DBCal need to really have a special unit or desk department
03:08which should look into accessibility access for PWDs.
03:15So that is very important.
03:16The manpower for them to see at the ground to implement is not there.
03:22So if you ask me 1 to 10 the scale, I may give only 5.
03:29Thomas said it was commendable for DBCal to turn Brickvilles into a township
03:33friendly to the disabled community back in 2002.
03:37But with rapid development in the area,
03:39the implementation of the MS1184 Code of Practice has been poor
03:44and existing infrastructure and facilities have been strained.