Damai Disabled People Association President V Murugeswaran is fighting with local authorities to improve public amenities for the disabled, especially for those on wheelchairs.
PETALING JAYA: Despite being paralysed from the waist down from the age of 19, V Murugeswaran did not lose hope.
The adventurous Murugeswaran met with a freak accident on May 1, 1988, when he lost control of his motorcycle at a flyover, slamming into a divider.
The impact threw him eight metres down from the flyover, resulting in permanent spinal injury that left him paralysed from waist down.
The accident also left Murugeswaran depressed and traumatised. He checked out of the hospital without enrolling into rehabilitation.
“My life was suddenly shattered. The number of friends I had became fewer and fewer.
“One fine day, I realised that I was all alone, except for my family members.
“That’s when I decided that this was not the life I wanted.”
He registered himself under a special programme by the Welfare Department (JKM), which gave him a disabled-friendly motorcycle so that he could move around independently.
“I had no choice because nobody wanted to take me out and I was fed up of staying at home.”
He got a job at a call centre in 1991, which paid him RM50 a month.
In 1993, he applied for another call centre job under JKM’s special initiative, which landed him another job with a logging company.
His hard work was recognised and he was then promoted to work in the credit collection department in the company.
“So, that’s where I worked for the next 12 years.”
In 1997, Murugeswaran had the chance to represent Malaysia in the Young Leadership Exchange Programme in Oregon, United States.
His experience there motivated him to start the Damai Disabled People Association, of which he is now president. It focuses on the concept of independent living.
“The seven weeks I spent in the US changed my perspective.
“I could see the disabled people living independently there because they were given a chance to do so.
“I realised that it was not impossible to achieve anything in the world despite being disabled.
“That’s why I came back and shared my experience with a few friends. Hence, the formation of Damai.”
On Sunday, Murugeswaran led a protest outside Mid Valley Megamall to point out the lack of disabled-friendly amenities, expressing his dismay over this never-improving issue in the country.
He feels the Federal Government and local authorities such as City Hall should take into account the troubles faced by the disabled.
“You can ask any disabled person in the country their experience when they wheel themselves out of the house.
“It is impossible. The person will be killed… hit by a car or something.
“This is simply because proper town planning isn’t there,” he said.
He said uneven pavements, potholes, high kerbs and lack of proper ramps for wheelchairs hindered free movement by the disabled.
He recalled an incident involving Damai Vice-President M Manoharan, who injured himself after his wheelchair overturned on him during a routine disability access audit at a bus stop.
“The ramp was designed incorrectly and he tried to push himself up. The ramp was too steep and his wheelchair overturned.
“Can you imagine that? This could happen to other people as well.”
Murugeswaran, now an IT executive with Hewitt Packard (HP), commended his company for the attention it gave to addressing the needs of the disabled.
He related a recent incident where he had accidentally fallen from his wheelchair after going over a small speed breaker outside his office.
“It was raining that day and I was going very fast. My wheelchair overturned.
“The entire episode was captured on CCTV. So, I did what the security guard told me to. I wrote a report about what had happened.
“The report reached the US and Singapore office. Immediately, they rectified the problem by breaking a portion of the speed breaker for me to pass through.”
People’s mentality towards the disabled in the country must change, he says.
“We are citizens of the country and we are entitled to these services. We are not asking for too much. Just adequate amenities for us.
“That’s why we started Damai in 1998.”
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/09/28/disability-doesnt-stop-this-man/