THE Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act 2008 has failed to protect and uphold the rights of persons with disabilities.
It is not in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Malaysia has been a signatory to for more than 11 years.
Malaysia has yet to submit a country report (to the United Nations) since it ratified the CRPD on July 19, 2010.
It also has yet to withdraw its reservations to Article 15 (freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and Article 18 (liberty of movement and nationality) of the CRPD. Malaysia has also not ratified the Optional Protocol to the CRPD.
The Harapan OKU Law Reform, an advocacy group, calls for urgent action to firstly, amend the Federal Constitution, under Article 8 (2), to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability.
That amendment will give legal effect to stop the isolation and segregation of persons with disabilities from mainstream society.
As it stands, the PwD Act is just an administrative legislation. It has no redress and enforcement provisions.
The PwD Act needs to be amended in at least six areas to be in line with the CRPD:
BROADEN the definition of disability to more than seven categories;
DEFINE “discrimination” and “harassment”;
PROVIDE remedies available in the event of discrimination and harassment;
REPEAL Sections 41 and 42 of the PwD Act that protect the government, public servants
and their representatives from
being sued when they fail to
fulfil their legal duties and obligations to persons with disabilities;
ESTABLISH an independent commission, accountable to Parliament, to monitor the implementation of the PwD Act and systematically advance the mainstreaming of disability inclusion in all ministries and sectors at all levels of the government; and,
ESTABLISH a tribunal to handle cases involving infringement of disability rights.
The proposed amendments were presented at the government town hall meeting on June 26 with a suggestion that a special task force be set up to address those issues.
We thank Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh for agreeing to look into it.
Harapan OKU Law Reform Group urges Women, Family and Community Development Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to ensure the task force is set up without delay and to work with Harapan OKU and other stakeholders.
We call on the government to ensure that the marginalised and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, are not left out, and rise to the clarion call of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of “Leave No One Behind”.
HARAPAN OKU LAW REFORM GROUP