Disability in Malaysia

This Malaysian Wants To Make KL Accessible For People With Disabilities IncluCity by NakSeni is an inclusive crowdsourced map for accessible, safe venues and spaces. (2023, Says)

Poor disabled-friendly facilities a bane for handicapped persons in Kedah. “I am unable to visit wet markets, grocery stores, hospitals, clinics, shops, restaurants, cafés, books stores and ATMs, when I'm in my wheelchair.” (2023, New Straits Times)

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Reflections on Power, Advocacy and What’s Next for Our OKU Community in Malaysia:

‘And disempowerment doesn’t just come from “outside” forces. It comes from within our community too. I have seen how quickly people shift from support to isolation based on whose “side” you’re on. I have experienced how I am praised when I am friendly with certain individuals or organisations, and how I am siloed the moment I challenge them. It feels like walking a tightrope—balancing on the thin line of who I can be friends with, whose side I am on, and which relationships are considered “acceptable” or “dangerous.”’ (2024, Make the Right Real)

Sen. Ras Adiba Radzi disability-rights advocate honored in Washington. (2023, BenarNews)

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Sign Languages

Maybank explores language of inclusivity featuring the deaf community, this Chinese New Year (2024, Marketing-Interactive)

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Braille

English-BM braille dictionary in the works “The country’s first ever English-Bahasa Malaysia braille dictionary is in the pipeline.” (2023, The Star)

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Person with Disability Statistics, Malaysia 2023 finds 736,607 people registered as disabled with the Department of Social Welfare. (2024, Department of Statistics Malaysia)

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Financial Inclusion

Ras Adiba calls for introduction of more inclusive financial system for persons with disabilities. (2022, Malay Mail)

New initiative to support financial education of blind people. (2022, Disability Insider)

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Social Protection

Dubious disabilities, duping doctors “Three doctors and a woman were among 33 people remanded yesterday for falsifying Socso disability claims amounting to RM2.1mil [483,000 USD] since 2017.” (2024, The Star)

How an OKU card [disability card] benefits persons with disabilities (2022, Free Malaysia Today)

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Special Needs Education for The Visually Impaired in Malaysia.

“Despite progressive policies, significant challenges persist, including limited access to specialized resources, inconsistent quality across regions, and a lack of adequately trained educators.” (2024, Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal)

Transition from Education to Employment in Malaysia: Situational Analysis of Youth with Disabilities (2024, Fora Education)

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Tan Kuan Aw activist and artist. Remembering the art he published on Disability Debrief. (Feb, Disability Debrief)

Disabled activist Anthony Thanasayan passes away aged 63. (2023, The Star) Also celebrated on the Debrief.

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Finally, after 5 months, police officer who assaulted deaf driver to be charged. “It comes after protests from the disabled community and rights groups over the long delay in bringing charges despite video evidence.” (2024, Malaysia Now)

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Profile of Debrief illustrator KA Tan "Painting makes me reflect and reflect. When society is progressing, what should life be like and what is its meaning? Are those illusions important to life?" (In Chinese, 2023, Penang China Press)

A day in the life of people with visual impairments. (2023, Malaysia Now)

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Podcast discussion on the persons with disabilities act: “a toothless tiger”. (No transcript, 2023, BFM)

Nothing about Us without Us “Malaysia has a long-standing practice of making policy decisions and planning programmes for persons with disabilities (OKU) and care partners – without engaging us.” (2022, FMT)

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Opinions of the disability community a survey of 700 disabled people regarding factors that influence their voting behaviour and disability issues that are important to them. Key priorities identified were employment, education, and enforcing rights. (2022, Make the Right Real) See coverage on Free Malaysia Today.

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