Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
World Federation of the Deaf - WFD

Malaysia

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© Dimitris Michailakis 1997

Organization of the Deaf, Malaysia
No reply was received from the Government of Malaysia.
Compare with the following Country Report(s): RI, WBU

General policy

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

According to the Organization of the Deaf, the government has not done anything to initiate orsupport information campaigns, conveying the message of full participation.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by general legislation. The only mechanism available to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is due process (legal remedy through courts). There are no administrative or other non-judicial bodies 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 and political rights. In their capacity as citizens, persons with disabilities are given the same rights as non-disabled citizens.

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

Accessibility

There are laws and regulations to ensure accessibility of the built environment requiring that public places, the outdoor environment, land, sea and air transportation 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: levelling off pavements, installing lifts and accessible toilets and ensuring access to public places. There are special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities - however not specified what they include - available for medical treatment, education and recreational purpose. Special transport is not available for work. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments, are attitudinal factors, economic/budgetary factors, lack of legislation and regulations, lack of knowledge, research and information, lack of co-operation from other organizations/institutions and lack of enforcement mechanism. There is a disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers.

Sign language for deaf people has no officially recognized status, is not used as the first language in education of deaf people, or recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible for persons with disabilities. The following services are provided in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and other persons: literature in Braille/tape and sign language interpretation being available for any purpose.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. 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. Whenever consultations, they take place at the national level. The government gives financial and organizational/logistic support to existing or new organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in legislatures, judiciary, political parties, to some extent in government and to a great extent in NGOs. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of services and measures, contribute to public awareness, provide services and promote/organize income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

There is a national co-ordinating committee reporting to the Ministry of National Unity and Social Development. The committee includes representatives of the Ministries of Finance, of Employment and of Education, and from organizations of persons with disabilities, from other NGOs and from the private sector. The government expects the co-ordinating committee to participate in policy development and to perform other tasks, for example the establishment of NGO training institutes. The establishment of the co-ordinating committee has had the following effects: improved co-ordination of measures/programmes, improved integration of responsibility, a better dialogue in the disability field, more accurate planning, more effective use of resources and improved promotion of public awareness.

The Organization of the Deaf cannot with certainty tell, whether the establishment of the Standard Rules has lead to a rethinking of the approach to disability policy.

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