Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
World Blind Union - WBU

Malaysia

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997

National Council for the Blind, Malaysia - NCBM
No reply was received from the Government of Malaysia.
Compare with the following Country Report(s): RI, WFD

General policy

The officially recognized disability policy in Malaysia is expressed in guidelines adopted by the government and in policy adopted by NGOs. The emphasis in this policy - in descending scale - is on prevention, rehabilitation, individual support and accessibility measures.

The government is annually launching the Handicapped Day, in order to convey the message of full participation.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by general legislation. The judicial mechanism available to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is due process (legal remedy through courts). There are no administrative and other non-judicial bodies available for that purpose.

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to: education, employment, the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, political rights, access to court-of-law, the right to privacy and to property rights. According to the National Council, only the benefit of employment is guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities.

No new legislation concerning disability has been enacted, since the adoption of the Rules.

Accessibility

There are laws and regulations to ensure accessibility of the built environment requiring that public places, the outdoor environment and housing are made accessible. Accessibility in the built environment is observed by local governments. The following measures have been promoted by the government to facilitate accessibility in the built environment: marking parking areas, installing lifts and accessible toilets, improving accessibility in housing and providing specially adapted motor vehicles. There are no special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments, are attitudinal factors, economic/budgetary factors, lack of knowledge, research and information, lack of co-operation from other organizations/institutions and lack of enforcement mechanism. There is no disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers.

Sign language for deaf people is not recognized as the official language for deaf people but is used as the first language in education of deaf people, and is recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are government measures to encourage media to make their information services accessible for persons with disabilities (without specification), but there are no government measures to encourage other forms of public information to make their services accessible for persons with disabilities. The only service provided to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and other persons is literature in Braille.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. The organizations for the blind and orthopaedically handicapped are represented in the umbrella. There are no legal provisions mandating the representatives of persons with disabilities to participate in policy making or to work with governmental institutions. Disability organizations are sometimes consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. Consultations, when taking place, occur at the national level. The government gives financial support to existing or new organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in government, legislatures, judiciary system, political parties and to some extent in NGOs. The role of disabled persons organizations is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, contribute to public awareness, provide services and promote/organize income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

The national co-ordinating committee is reporting to the Ministry of Welfare. The committee includes representatives of the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, of Employment and of Education, of organizations of persons with disabilities and from the private sector. The government expects the co-ordinating committee to participate in policy development, but not to perform other tasks. The establishment of the committee has had the following effects: improved co-ordination of measures/programmes in the disability field, a better dialogue and improved promotion of public awareness.

The adoption of the Standard Rules has led to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy in the sense that the government is more aware of the disability problems.

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