Disabled Schoolboy Assaulted
Barely three months ago Malaysia celebrated the signing of a very important international treaty, The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities whose objective is to promote, protect and ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 came into force three weeks ago.

I strongly urge the authorities concerned as well as the National Autism Society of Malaysia to look into the matter immediately.


31 July 2008

Autistic teenager bullied by schoolmates
THE father of a 16-year-old autistic schoolboy claimed his son was assaulted by two classmates and that the actual perpetrator was a teacher. THE father of a 16-year-old autistic schoolboy claimed his son was assaulted by two classmates and that the actual perpetrator was a teacher.
A. Suriyakaanth is enrolled in a special class at Sekolah Menengah Seksyen 19, Shah Alam. The incident occurred on Tuesday about 10.30am.
His son had often been bullied in school but this was the worst incident, said the boy’s father, Arunaselam Letchimanan.
Added Arunaselam: “My son is autistic and because of that, he is not popular in class. But how can this happen? Aren’t teachers supposed to be guardians of their wards? “Apparently, my son was not at his best behaviour in class.
So the teacher instructed two other boys to beat up my son.
Suriya was punched in his face by the boys.” About 11.30am, the school called and asked that he pick up his son. However, when Suriyakaanth’s brother arrived in school at 2pm, the boy was nowhere to be found.
The school authorities, he added, said Suriyakaanth had left the school compound.
“Aren’t they supposed to be responsible for my son’s welfare during school hours? How can they let him out and then tell me they don’t know where he is?” asked Arunaselam.
Later, however, a friend who stays near the school informed Arunaselam that Suriyakaanth was in his house.
Arunaselam has already complained to the State education department but no action has been taken, he said.
School authorities declined to comment on the allegations

PWD disregards needs of PWDs!
The indiscriminate approval by the Public Works Department (PWD) of these stalls obviously reflects what the government thinks of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Road shoulders are safe passageways for disabled persons too.

Saturday July 26, 2008
MPAJ hawker stalls built on road shoulder
By BAVANI M
THE usual complaint by residents is often about the illegal stalls sprouting in places like pedestrian walkways and road kerbs, causing obstruction to the public.
But at Taman Muda in Ampang, Selangor, the stalls built by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) in Jalan Bunga Raya are the cause of the residents’ misery.
The 14 hawker stalls have gotten the community there all riled up because they are located right smack on the road shoulder.
“This is weird. This is not the place to put stalls. Isn’t it illegal?” Taman Muda resident Nancy Foo said.
Pandan MP Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat is also puzzled by the whole thing.
Unsuitable location: The 14 stalls built by the MPAJ along Jalan Bunga Raya in Taman Muda Pandan.
Ong, the Transport Minister, told a community gathering at his constituency earlier this week that he couldn’t understand the MPAJ rationale for building the stalls at such an awkward place.
He said building the stalls on a road shoulder was certainly inappropriate and was illegal, even if they were built by the MPAJ.
He wondered why the authorities were not doing anything about it.
“The residents are complaining that they should not be there and I agree. It's not a suitable location. Moreover, there are no public facilities like toilets, so it is certainly not hygienic,” he said.
Ong said he was also disappointed that some parties had made a lot of noise about the stalls before the March 8 general election but, after being elected the state assemblyman of the area, had done nothing about the matter.
The assemblyman for the area, the state seat of Teratai, is Jenice Lee of the DAP.
When contacted, Lee said she had done everything possible to get the stalls relocated, but to no avail.
“I will seek the help of Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to have the matter resolved as soon as possible,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a statement e-mailed to StarMetro, MPAJ public relations officer Norhayati Ahmad said the Public Works Department (PWD) technical team had approved the location of the stalls.
“The PWD gave the MPAJ the green light to build the stalls there and the previous state government, in a bid to rid the area of illegal stalls, approved the project under the state economic planning unit,” Norhayati said.
According to Norhayati, most of the stalls in Pandan are over 20 years old and need to be rejuvenated and relocated.
On the hygiene and safety factors, she said they were no longer an issue since the new stalls had been installed with grease traps to prevent any contamination and pollution and ample parking spots had been allocated.

Sports for Disabled Persons Nationwide

July 28, 2008 18:27 PM
Sports Association For The Disabled To Be Set Up In Each State
PUTRAJAYA, July 28 (Bernama) -- A sports association for the disabled will be set up in each state to expand and strengthen their sports development, in line with other sporting activities."Today's meeting decided to form a sports association for disabled persons in every state."Its development programmes will be outlined by representatives of their respective state sports council," Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters after chairing a Youth and Sports Development Programme Coordination Meeting here Monday.On the fund allocated by the ministry to form the association, he said the amount had not been finalised."To form a sports association for the disabled is not easy because there are not many athletes for every type of sport."So, plans must be made carefully before we announce the amount of funds to be allocated," he said.-- BERNAMA

Dituduh Merogol
Wanita Terencat

Bekas pegawai polis bela diri

tuduhan rogol wanita terencat

oleh: Siti Nurazlinee Azmi bhnews@bharian.com





MALU: Mat Susah menutup wajahnya ketika beredar

dari mahkamah, semalam selepas diperentah membela diri

atas tuduhan merogol gadis terencat akal. - Bernama



KUALA LUMPUR: Bekas Asisten Komisioner Polis (ACP) diperintah Mahkamah Sesyen di sini, semalam, untuk membela diri terhadap tuduhan merogol seorang wanita terencat akal, lima tahun lalu. Hakim Datin Anita Harun memerintahkan bekas ACP Mat Susah Sadikin, 66, membela diri selepas yakin pihak pendakwaan berjaya membuktikan kes prima facie terhadapnya dan menetapkan 11 September ini untuk kes pembelaan. Tertuduh yang pernah berkhidmat sebagai pegawai kanan di Cawangan Khas Bukit Aman didakwa merogol mangsa yang ketika itu berusia 23 tahun di stor kedai runcit miliknya di Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru di sini, antara jam 4 petang dan 7 malam di antara 1 Oktober hingga 31 Oktober 2003.

Charged for Raping Mentally
Handicapped Woman



26th July 2008
Ex-cop to enter defence


Former Assistant Commissioner Mat Susah shielding his face outside the Court.

Earlier he had tried to run away from photographers taking his pictures

KUALA LUMPUR: A retired senior police officer, who was charged with raping a mentally disabled woman five years ago, was yesterday ordered by the Sessions Court to enter his defence.

Judge Datin Anita Harun said in her decision at the end of the prosecution's case,that they succeeded in proving a prima facie case against retired assistant commissioner Mat Susah Sadikin.Mat Susah, 66, was formerly an officer with the Special Branch at the Federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman. He had been charged on Dec 7, 2006 with raping the 23-year-old woman in a storeroom of his grocery store, at Jalan Raja Muda, Kampung Baru, here, between 4pm and 7pm in October 2003.He claimed trial and was allowed bail of RM20,000.

The trial, which began in 2007, saw nine prosecution witnesses brought to the stand and the prosecution's case was wrapped up on March 11.Mat Susah was represented by counsel Mohd Radzuan Ibrahim while DPP Nurul Ain Hamzah prosecuted.Anita set two days for the defence's case, beginning Sept 11.

An Extraordinary Guy Who Inspired Millions
Randy Pausch, the computer science professor who rose to fame after giving a quirky last lecture about celebrating life in the face of his terminal cancer, died Friday 25th July 2008.
The 47-year-old died at his home in Chesapeake, Va., according to Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow, who helped launch Pausch to fame after writing about the speech — which also garnered widespread attention when it was posted on video sharing site YouTube.
He was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006.
A year later, Pausch took part in a lecture series at the university that saw professors give hypothetical final talks and speak about what mattered mostto them.
* Randy Pausch's "final" lecture was given on 18 September 2007 at Carnegie Mellon University. Here are some highlights:
* "It's wonderful to be here. What they didn't tell you is that this lecture series used to be called 'The Last Lecture'. If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be? I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it."
* "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
* "How do you get people to help you? By telling the truth. Being earnest.
* "Apologise when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself. .
* "Remember, brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to
separate us from the people who don't really want to achieve their dreams. *Don't bail. The best of the gold's at the bottom of barrels of crap."
* "Show gratitude.
* "Don't complain. Just work harder
* "Work hard.
* "Find the best in everybody. You might have to wait a long time, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting, it will come out. And be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity."

Persons With Disabilities Act 2008 (Malaysia)

The Persons With Disabilities Act 2008 came into operation on 7th July 2008. Not a whimper about this important event was reported in the media. Even the Minister concerned has made no official statement so far regarding this. Disabled people in Malaysia had waited anxiously for six years for its enactment. Despite having a state-of-the-art communications system the government is still slow in disseminating information to disabled persons.

The Journey....
The Persons with Disabilities Bill was first drafted in 2002 by a Technical Working Group of the National Advisory & Consultative Council on the Disabled, headed by a disabled practising lawyer. After being deliberated upon at various levels it was finally tabled in Parliament for the First reading on 17th December 2007. After going through Second and Third readings and the Committee Stage, it was passed in the Lower House (Dewan Rakyat) on 18th December 2007. It was then taken to the Upper House (Dewan Negara) on 24th December 2008 where it was passed without any amendments. The Act was given Royal Assent on 26th January 2008 and came into force on 7th July 2008.

Dawning of an Episode

Felt the urge to add one more facet to my life. Putting all inhibitions aside I rose to the dawn of a brand new day today. With my adrenalin reverberating I embark upon this journey ........