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Labour Day Morning With YB Yap Soo Sun
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/5/1 12:37)
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My fellow advocates on disability issues, Wang and Tan, and I have been mulling on a date to meet the State Assemblyman for the area that we are residing in. At 10.00am this morning, we went to meet the ADUN of Teratai YB Yap Soo Sun at his residence. I handed to him a follow-up letter of complaint to the Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) regarding inaccessible walkways in Pandan Perdana . He has agreed to look into the matter and made plans to go on a walkabout around Pandan Perdana with us to view the challenges that wheelchair users have to face when moving about in the area. We intimated to him that RapidKL will be launching accessible buses soon but without corresponding accessible walkways and bus stops, wheelchair users are still unable to board the buses. YB Yap said that after understanding the situation better, he will submit a proposal to the state government for funding to upgrade the infrastructure. We also informed him that we plan to set up a Centre for Indepe ...
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Message for Dato’ Dr. Teng Hock Nan
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/27 14:16)
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Politicians can say the darndest things. Occasionally, they are humorous. More often than not, their glaring idiocy is evident by the ignorant statements that they issue and the desperate backpedalling to contain the damage afterwards. And then we have Penang State Traffic Management Committee chairman Dato’ Dr Teng Hock Nan who was reported by The Star to have said ? buses with facilities for wheelchair passengers would have to stop longer for boarding and could disrupt arrival schedules. ? Hello Dr. Teng, what century are you living in? While many cities in other countries have already implemented inclusive transportation policies, here you are taking Penang and Malaysia back to the stone age of public transportation. Yabba dabba doo. Do you realise that bus schedules can be disrupted by many other factors including weather and traffic conditions, and buses breaking down? Why are you putting the blame on wheelchairs users only? Since you are so keen in ensuring that the buse ...
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The Star - April 26, 2007: Buses for disabled later
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/26 20:51)
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Nation Thursday April 26, 2007 Buses for disabled later PENANG: The state government will bring in buses equipped with facilities for wheelchair passengers once the new RapidPenang bus system is running smoothly. The RapidPenang bus service is scheduled to start operations in August with 150 buses initially. State Traffic Management Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said buses with facilities for wheelchair passengers would have to stop longer for boarding and could disrupt arrival schedules. ?Such buses do not fit into the first phase of the RapidPenang bus service system which we have to ensure runs efficiently first,? he said. Dr Teng said another 100 new buses with facilities for wheelchair passengers would be brought in. He said the 150 buses for the first phase were equipped with special seats for the elderly, pregnant women and children. ?They are low-floor buses, meaning that the elderly and pregnant women do not have to climb many steps to board them, ...
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Monster Blog - April 18, 2007: Disabled Persons Do Not Need Special Buses
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/18 19:42)
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Disabled persons in this country are hard-pressed to believe that the government is concerned with the challenges they are facing. Despite countless pleas not to be left out in the nation?s progress, they are still struggling to cope with environmental and attitudinal barriers all the time. To add insult to injury, past mistakes are recreated in the present. Rapid KL made a major blunder when they never took the needs of disabled persons into account and acquired non-accessible buses in 2004. Three years down the road, RapidPenang is making the same mistake when Penang State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee Chairman Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan announced that ?for the time being, we will not be having special buses for the disabled who use wheelchairs.? In respond to Dr. Teng?s statement, the Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) called for a press conference on April 14 to dispel the misconception that disabled persons and wheelchair users nee ...
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The Star - April 17, 2007: Don?t leave us out, urge wheelchair-bound commuters
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/17 16:55)
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North Tuesday April 17, 2007 Don?t leave us out, urge wheelchair-bound commuters WHEELCHAIR users do not want to be left behind when RapidPenang’s 150 buses ply the streets in Penang in August. Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (Beat) coordinator Christine Lee said that non-step, low floor buses should be made available for the public, including senior citizens and wheelchair bound commuters. She expressed concern over a statement by State Local Govern-ment, Traffic Management, Informa-tion and Community Relations Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan that the state would not provide special buses for the disabled who use wheelchairs. She pointed out that the statement contradicted Transport Mini-ster Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy’s announcement that the transport needs and interests of disabled persons would be included in the public transport master plan, and Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop’s assurance that new bu ...
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Fulfilling Mum’s Final Wishes
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/8 21:56)
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The day came and went. I was busy with something else. It had dragged on for so long that waiting a little longer did not matter anymore. The deadline was April 24. I could afford to wait for another week or two. Nevertheless, Harcharan called last Friday evening to tell me that one of the major outstanding matters in Mum?s estate had been resolved. The immensity of it did not hit me until early this morning. I am glad that one of Mum?s final wishes had been fulfilled. Although this load had been taken off my back, it was one that I was willing to shoulder no matter what. The times that I had failed Mum are innumerable. It is such irony that I am determined to fulfil her wishes only after her death. This was the last instruction that she had entrusted me with before she passed away. The only right thing for me to do is to execute it.
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Lembu On The Road
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/7 23:15)
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Andy the driving instructor gave me my Malaysian Learner’s Driving License (Lesen Belajar Memandu Malaysia) today. After that we went on the public road for the first time learning one of the three test routes. The journey was harrowing as well as thrilling. It has been more than twenty two years since I last drove a car. The earliest date that I can sit for the Ujian Memandu Bahagian II and Bahagian III is May 7. Wuan is unable to take leave from work on the first half of the month. Therefore the test has to be postponed to the later part of next month.
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Get Well Soon Reallybites!
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/7 21:48)
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Reallybites dislocated her knee, of all places, in her college’s toilet just now. Poor girl. Get well soon buddy!
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Monster Blog - April 6, 2007: RapidPenang Ignores The Transportation Needs Of Disabled Persons
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/7 9:37)
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RapidPenang Ignores The Transportation Needs Of Disabled Persons The report that RapidPenang will not be bringing in buses accessible to wheelchairs is disappointing news ( The Star - April 4, 2006: Courtesy classes for Penang bus drivers ). The statement by Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan is a step backward for Malaysia in respecting the rights of disabled persons in the area of transportation and mobility. The statement that wheelchair users need special buses is not only incorrect but misleading as well. In the Asia-Pacific accessible buses are already widely used in Japan and Australia to serve not only wheelchair users but the general public. These non-step buses are also convenient for senior citizens, pregnant women and adults with prams as the floor of the buses are flushed with the height of the bus stops. Dr. Teng’s statement is also in contradiction to Minister of Transport Dato’ Seri Chan Kong Choy’s announcement that the transport needs and interests of d ...
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Protected: Monster Blog - April 6, 2006: RapidPenang Ignores The Transportation Needs Of Disabled Pe
from Peter Tan - The Digital Awakening
(2007/4/7 9:37)
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