The disabled have a right to travel

MORE than 100 participants from South-East Asia, Italy, Britain, Nepal and New Zealand attended a two-day accessible tourism conference in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The participants shared experiences from their home countries and underscored the importance of including disabled-friendly features in tourist spots.

The seminar was targeted at the tourism industry, hotels, transportation services and tourist site operators.

Yam Tong Woo, 59, from Malaysia was invited to share about the needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in our country. Yam, who became blind five years ago, invited all the sighted participants to close their eyes during his talk to give them an idea of what the world of the blind is like.

"Please relax your visual cortex and kindly step into my world by using your ears and brains if you will, and allow me to be your guide, through my voice, to what our world is like," said Yam at the start of his speech.

Yam shared about his struggles after he was suddenly plunged into a world of darkness following an eye infection.

Yam did not pull any punches when it came to the issue of access for the disabled in Malaysia. The former mechanical engineer cited the historic town of Malacca as an example.

"Despite being declared a UN heritage site some years ago, certain areas are out of bounds for PwDs," said Yam. "To add insult to injury, signboards are put up to discourage PwDs from entering certain places such as museums due to the narrow passageways. They fear the blind may knock down the artefacts with their white canes."

Yam said that such treatment of the handicapped is in marked contrast to how they are treated overseas. Yam visited the Tower of London last year. Thousands of tourists visit the tower every year to view the famous Crown Jewels.

"I was pleasantly surprised by their caring attitude. I was allowed to jump queue and offered a thermoform tactile booklet to experience the touch/feel of the Crown Jewels on display as both my wife and I walked past the items. We had no problems there."

Zoo Negara is another problem area for the blind, said Yam.

"Blind visitors should be provided with audio descriptions of the animals so that they can discover it on their own without the need for someone to read the printed displays available for the sighted.

"It would also help if the blind had a scaled-down model of the animals for them to touch and feel what the animals look like. This is how the blind learn and discover new things."

Yam recalled his visit to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland, where Guinness Stout was born. He spent several hours at the Guinness museum because all the audio equipment was made available to him in addition to a guided tour.

Clean and non-smelly toilets are another must for the blind, said Yam.

"Malaysians are known to be hospitable and friendly. However, that isn't always true when it comes to the elderly and PwDs these days," Yam pointed out. "From my experience, it appears as if some sighted people are more blind than the blind when they pay no regard for our white canes and bump into us.

"During my trips abroad, I was often offered help by the service personnel at train stations, airports and tourist sites. I didn't even have to ask for it. I'm sure all this does not come about by accident. It is probably part of the education system and training programmes which teach them to be more caring.

"As Malaysia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, there should be no more delays in fulfilling our obligations to the disabled. They have equal rights to travel and visit places of interest.

Some participants noted the absence of representatives from Tourism Malaysia at the conference. It was sad, too, that the hotel where the event was held did not provide wheelchair-friendly rooms although this issue was brought up to the attention of the management a year ago when an event involving the disabled was held there.

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