Kedah MB wants more amenities provided for people with disabilities

ALOR SETAR: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir today advised local authorities to provide more special amenities to enable people with disabilities to manage themselves on their own.
Much more could be done for these people, he told reporters after launching the national-level International White Cane Day at Dataran Wisma Darul Aman here.
He said audible traffic lights and walkways for vision-impaired people should be provided to enable them to walk about unaided.
"They have a right to these facilities, and we want to see more of them being self-reliant. As such, we have to provide these amenities," he said.
Mukhriz acknowledged that Kedah did not have enough amenities for people with disabilities compared to such facilities in large cities such as Kuala Lumpur.
However, he said, it was not too late to provide more of such infrastructure.
In his speech at the event, Mukhriz said it was a must to provide special walkways at buildings, pedestrian walkways and public toilets specially for people with disabilities.
Special amenities should also be provided at supermarkets, shopping malls and government departments so that these people had unrestricted mobility, he added.
Mukhriz also said that companies were encouraged to employ manpower from among people with disabilities who had undergone special training.
"This is better than just giving them cash. It can reduce unemployment among them and enable them to show society that they can be self-reliant," he said.
At the event, Mukhriz announced a RM10,000 cash aid for the Society of the Blind in Malaysia (SBM). – Bernama