Donaldson Tan
About 30 Singaporeans gathered at Speaker’s Corner last saturday, urging the government and society at large to do more for disabled Singaporeans. This event is part of MARUAH’s campaign titled “Me and My Friend”, to raise public awareness of issues faced by disabled Singaporeans.
The campaign also includes an exhibition at Public Arts Square (Citylink Mall) from 10 December 2009 to 10 January 2010 and a free movie screening at Golden Village (Great World City) on the 14th December 2009.
Former spokeperson of Challengeds’ Alliance Network (CAN), Ravi Philemon, expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress in the public campaign for public transport subsidy for the disabled. Despite the effort of some MPs sending letters to the relevant agencies, nothing has been achieved, he said.
The first public call for subsidised public transport for the disabled dates back as long as 10 years. In 2000, public transport operator SMRT responded by emphasising the need to be “prudent about extending any travel concessions beyond the present eligible groups” because “concession fares are cross-subsidised by full-fare paying passengers with no direct subsidy”.
“This is unfair,” said Mr Philemon. Many disabled Singaporeans earn very meagre salaries. While they spend as much as S$5 per day, their monthly individual income can be as low as S$100. Up to 75% of their salaries is spent on public transport.
The issue of Blind Card was raised by one of the speakers, Mr Rahmat. His social worker had provided him a Blind Card which helps him to get free rides on the public transport system. However, this is not an official scheme, so blind people are at the mercy of ground staff and bus drivers in the public transport sector.
The unwritten rule of free ride for the blind dates back to the time when Singapore was a British colony. However, this rule is not always observed as there are foreigners among public transport operator’s ground staff and bus drivers who are not familiar with local customs and practices.
On education, Bramae Mathi of MARUAH said that allowing disabled students to enrol in the same school as normal-bodied students enables normal-bodied students to “build up an ability to include them [the disabled] in our social sphere”. She also expressed her concern that disabled children are exempted from the Compulsory Education Act.
According to Wong U-Wen of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Federation (DHHF), many Singaporeans have little knowledge of deaf issues. In the USA, the deaf are allowed to drive cars but they are not allowed to drive cars in Singapore. For some reason, the public appears to be more sympathetic to the transport needs of the blind than that of the deaf.
He also expressed his frustration on employment discrimination in Singapore. Despite 20-years of experience as a mental health and social worker in the USA, he found that his perspective employers were more concerned about his loss of hearing than his ability to work. “I have deaf friends in the USA who are lawyers, doctors and university academics,” he said.
Related posts:
- Transport subsidies for the disabled – passing the buck?
- 10 years – and still no public transport subsidy for disabled
- $150 per month for severely disabled elderly – extended by only one year?
- Singaporeans seek asylum elsewhere
- Singaporeans need to overcome negative traits
@LESSER MORTALS ALREADY TREATED LIKE ……………, WHAT MORE THE DISABLED on December 14th, 2009 8.50 am
Using such boorish cynicism such as those in your comments only diminishes the message that is being put across to advance the cause of the disabled. In fact, it only gives the powers-that-be an excuse to further ignore the good intents here.
One wonders whether the comment was intended to take cheap political pot-shots or to support the more disadvantaged amongst us.
A well written article, i happen to be in a serious traffic accident 3-4yrs back. Doctor told me that i would never walked again..
But i am one of the more lucky one i perservere and walked again (but with walking stick).
Problem with disabled is we have big difficulty to find a job, i am a graduate but because of my condition i am forced to accept lower starting salaries despite doing the same job as other people. Sigh*
Lets hope government will come up with more help for transportation for disabled, although i may own my own vehicle but because of my meagre salary and long distance travelling (26-30km), i hardly have any saving at all (or none).
A few cases of unemployed/handicap people in Boon Lay, Jln Besar, Clementi Ave 5 needing help but no response from their MP.
And these postings were not just in TOC or TR
[which I understand that they will never respond]
BUT similar postings are in TODAY newspaper, Straits Times forum and lately one of the case is posted on REACH.
[BUT also no response]
Extremely strange that their MP din step forward to help these unemployed/handicap resident.
[ one was even brought to court over $432 arrears in service n conservacy bil ]
So any truth to what is said at the first posting?
I can’t believe that they have been asking for a subsidy for the past 10 years and not getting any. I mean its not even a political issue, its a simple thing to do for those who really need our help.
How many disabled people are there in Singapore in all? Will a transport subsidy for this group of people who earn $0-$300 a month really hurt Singapore’s economy?
Since April 2008 in England, every resident who is over 60 or an ‘eligible disabled’ is ensured free bus travel during off-peak hours, and concessions during peak hours. The concessions extend to rail and tram travel as well.
In Taiwan, the disabled have a card which guarantee them lower transportation fares.
I know very well the heartlessness of the Singapore government when it comes to the detention and torture of ISA detainees, but can’t they at least have a heart for the struggling disabled people of our nation?
Oh come on!
For Goodness sake.
They are asking for subsidies not free transport!
What does it takes to give in to this small and insignificant amount but potentially life changing for them?
Just because they are minority do not mean they needed to be sidelined like so many other minority in SG already.
Is this how the majority is treating the less fortunate segment of our society?
Or do we just wait for President Star Charities to address this?
Can we have more friendly enviroment for the handicap people??
Beside Bukit Merah NTUC entrance, there is a strong guy.
He is a handicap people selling big sweep here for more than 10 years. Sometime his big sweep and money were stolden by some bad guys who pretended to be customers buying big sweep from him but yet took away all the big sweep and ran away.
He is a strong guy. He thanks for other people who want to offer any help to him.
I asked him :” how do you go to the toilet?”
He said :” Oh, that is really a bit troublesome for me. Someone push me to the Bukit Merah bus interchange toilet.”
I said :” why go so far? is there any handicap toilet nearby ?”
He said :” There is one nearby at the Hawker centre but too small for my wheel chair to go in.”
I went to the handicap toilet last night and noticed that it was quite far from his place and it is not easy for him to push the wheel chair by himself.
But, if he has a electronic wheel chair. will it be better for him? If there is a big enough handicap toilet nearby him, will it change his 13 years troublesome which he needs to go to the toilet so far at the bus interchange? The Tanjong Pagar Town Council is just behind him. Is there any handicap toilet there?
When we are talking about having special pavement for cycling, do we also want to think about having handicap pavement? Let them using electronice wheelchair anytime by themselves. Let them have the opportunity to go everywhere by themselves. I believe it will brighten up their life.
It will be nice……………if…….
*all of the handicap people can own a electronic wheelchair and go everywhere easily anytime.
*The price of the wheelchair is affordable for every donor to sponsor the wheelchair for every handicap in Singapore.
* Our ministers may want to start to kick on of this project? one minister or one MP sponsor one electronic wheel chair for one handicap who need it? (it’s like an adoption project.)
Hi Seelay & Jane,
It is a good thing to ask that the disabled be treated as fairly as any normal person would be treated. In Singapore, I think the disadvantages of the disabled are already very advantageous. This is not to say more cannot be done for them. On the contrary, we should be aiming for excellent treatment of our disabled countrymen.
However, we should be careful that such endeavour does not encroach upon the rest of the majority who have to be twice as abled to survive and provide for their own. I have cited this example countless times already: that our buses are retrofitted to be handicap-friendly at the expense of other commuters having to stand up throughout their journey from one point to another. We are a graying population, and while the buses are now designed to cater to the wheelchair-bound passenger, we forget the old folks who now have to stand up because the seating capacity is lessen.
The other point is cost. We have spent so much money to retrofit the buses just so that a handful of wheelchair-bound passengers along the route can travel. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy a fleet of small vans and have them retrofitted to provide for them? All the wheelchair-bound passenger need to do is to make a phone call for him to be picked up by one of these vans. It is cheaper and more target-based, anytime better than having a fleet of buses plying around the country hoping that a wheelchair-bound passenger would board them while the rest suffer the inconvenience of having to stand through their journey.
Having a fleet of specially targeted vans or mini-buses would also allow other disabled passenger to use them other than the wheelchair bound ones. The blind, the deaf, the medically-disabled etc can all use these mini-buses for travel – free from having to get in the way of the others who may be rushing to do the things that help them provide for their own families.
Comparing to converting a fleet of national buses like it is now, is much much more expensive than having a fleet of specially-customised buses for the disabled. They can even travel for free and it will still be cheaper and more convenient.
gemami@8: You have conveniently forgotten the ‘priority’ or ‘reserved’ seats in public transport for the elderly.
Your suggestion further cements segregation whereas the people with disability need more integration.
Society as a whole would only do much better if they slow down a little for the less abled and the elderly.
Hi Stranger,
You’re right about the ‘reserved’ seats. Guess why do we see and hear a higher number of disgruntled elderly passengers these days? The reserved seats are already taken up by similarly elderly passengers.
I do not see it as a further segregation of the disabled. There are many other ways we can show our love and care for the disabled. As a matter of fact, I see it as a more practical solution to their travelling problem. Which do you think the disabled will prefer? To travel exclusively and free of charge, or, to travel with the masses who are already having trouble travelling alongside each other.
There are many other ways we can integrate the disabled with mainstream society.
Your third point is the ideal we want of our society and I think having exclusive transportation arrangements for our disabled citizens is the first step toward this end, and a better show of care and concern toward them. It is our social responsibility to see to it that they are treated fairly, notwithstanding their disability.
Hi gemami,
As much as the disabled need love and care, just like any other human being, they also have their rights. It is their right to be able to travel on public transport.
Do you give up your seat to the elderly or the disabled when the bus or train is full? I do. It is little things like that which makes us all human beings.
gemami,
DO YOU SEE MANY DISABLED PERSONS ON WHEELERCHAIR
TAKING BUSES, ESP AT PEAK HOURS?
more standing space in bus = more income for bus company.
there was this feedback at TODAYonline forum, asking bus company to hv more ‘WAB’ feeder bus service, so they trravel to other parts of the estate, to town centre n to take the MRT.
REASON is tt most ppl on wheelchair don take main route buses, especially during peak hours.
more standing space in bus = more income for bus company.
SO DO U GET IT -
Hi kcub – my sentiments exactly.
Hi Stranger – you still do not get my point. You know what? There are many good-hearted souls like you who would give up their seats. Unfortunately, there are so many fewer seats these days that you need the younger elderly to give up theirs to the senior elderly.
It is indeed about being human but surely being human does not mean we overdo things. I have no quarrel with the disabled travelling alongside us, but to retrofit every bus to cater to the small number of disabled is going too far.
Also, pray tell me, how many of you would chat up the disabled when they travel alongside you in a bus?
It is one thing to want to be magnanimous but it is altogether another thing to live reality. Overdoing the fleet of buses to be handicap-friendly is not one area for this. It is more human to accord the disabled the specialised travelling arrangement like the one I mentioned in my earlier posts.
4) Buck on December 14th, 2009 2.36 pm A few cases of unemployed/handicap people in Boon Lay, Jln Besar, Clementi Ave 5 needing help but no response from their MP.
Extremely strange that their MP din step forward to help these unemployed/handicap resident.
[ one was even brought to court over $432 arrears in service n conservacy bil ]
Only 1? there are more than thousands already brought to court and further slapped in with another court fines, I am really very very disappointed with the govt here for doing such thing to its own citizens.
gemami, I think having a separate fleet of bus for people who are disabled, is more of an ‘overdoing’, then retrofitting existing buses to be friendly to people who are disabled.
BASICALLY, CONVERT THAT 10-million bucks for ‘Foreigners Welcome Party’ INTO A ‘DISABLED PEOPLE TRANSPORT SUBSIDY’ FUND is a good start.
Let National Council of Social Services, NCSS, handle the fund.
http://www.ncss.org.sg/home/index.asp
Later on Government can pledge a yearly amount, and Community Chest can help fund it with the other VWOs for disabled ppl