Home Civil Society Voices Perundangan bagi orang kurang upaya: Malaysia jauh ketinggalan (Malay/English)

Perundangan bagi orang kurang upaya: Malaysia jauh ketinggalan (Malay/English)

WONG SOAK KOON/ALIRAN

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[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Malaysia mempunyai permulaan yang baik dengan meluluskan Akta Orang Kurang Upaya 2008 (Akta 685) dan meratifikasi Konvensyen PBB Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) pada 2010.

Namun begitu, golongan orang kurang upaya, aktivis hak ketidakupayaan, pertubuhan masyarakat sivil bagi ketidakupayaan dan teman jagaan (care partner) orang kurang upaya telah lama menyuarakan bahawa Akta Orang Kurang Upaya 2008 (Akta OKU):

  • tidak dilaksanakan dengan sepenuhya
  • tidak dapat dikuatkuasakan, dan
  • kekurangan unsur-unsur kritikal.

Oleh sebab demikian, mereka berpendapat bahawa Akta OKU tidak mampu untuk menegakkan dan melindungi hak orang kurang upaya.

Justeru, pemindaan Akta OKU yang sedang dijalankan mesti selaras dengan Konvensyen PBB Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya serta mengambil kira semua ulasan am (general comments) dan garis panduan yang diterbitkan oleh Jawatankuasa Hak Orang Kurang Upaya PBB (UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities atau CRPD).

Sebuah pasukan projek khas telah ditubuhkan untuk mengusahakan pemindaan Akta OKU 2008. Namun begitu, ia tidak jelas sejauh mana ahli-ahli pasukan ini telah melakukan perkara berikut untuk melaksanakan tugas yang berat lagi penting ini:

  • Mengkaji ulasan am dan dokumen-dokumen berkaitan yang diterbitkan oleh CRPD
  • Mengadakan konsultasi bersama komuniti orang kurang upaya yang luas
  • Membandingkan perundangan mengenai orang kurang upaya di negara-negara jiran

Beberapa negara jiran mempunyai dasar dan undang-undang domestik yang lebih selaras dengan Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya, dari segi penegakkan hak orang kurang upaya dan perlindungan terhadap diskriminasi berasaskan ketidakupayaan secara ketara. Negara-negara tersebut termasuk, sebagai contoh, India, Republik Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapura, China, termasuk Hong Kong, serta Fiji, New Zealand dan Australia.

Apakah kemajuan yang telah dicapai oleh negara serantau dalam perundangan mengenai orang kurang upaya? Jadual di bawah menunjukkan perbandingan ringkas atas penyelarasan dengan Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya dalam perundangan mengenai orang kurang upaya di negara-negara yang terpilih. Ia tidak termasuk penyelarasan perundangan domestik lain dalam pelbagai sektor (dari peringkat persekutuan kepada tempatan) dengan Konvensyen PBB Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya. Analisis yang lebih terperinci boleh diperoleh daripada pautan ini: Harmonisation of domestic legislation with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – OKU Rights Matter; Policy and legislation: Other countries – OKU Rights Matter.


Perhatian: Di Thailand dan Indonesia, semua organisasi orang kurang upaya utama bersatu dan bekerjasama tanpa mengira jenis ketidakupayaan. Solidariti ini membolehkan perwakilan dan advokasi yang baik dalam usaha kerjasama dengan kerajaan dalam pelaksanaan dan penguatkuasaan Akta OKU di negara masing-masing.

Sebaliknya, Malaysia sangat jauh ketinggalan berbanding negara-negara jiran dalam perundangan mengenai orang kurang upaya dan hak ketidakupayaan. Selama bertahun-tahun, negara-negara jiran seperti di atas telah mempunyai undang-undang yang jauh mendahului kita, iaitu:

  • Definisi ketidakupayaan yang luas
  • Takrifan yang komprehensif tentang diskriminasi dan gangguan terhadap orang kurang upaya
  • Suruhanjaya bebas bagi orang kurang upaya
  • Mekanisme penyelesaian aduan yang jelas
  • Tiada fasal penyingkiran (ouster clauses– iaitu peruntukan untuk mengecualikan kajian semula kehakiman terhadap perbuatan yang dilakukan oleh eksekutif)
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Kami bimbang tentang rekod prestasi negara kita sebagai peneraju negara anggota Asean yang gagal untuk menyelaraskan undang-undang domestik berikutan ratifikasi Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya. Pada masa ini, negara kita tidak mempunyai mekanisme yang berdaya untuk menegakkan dan melindungi hak orang kurang upaya yang mengalami diskriminasi. Malaysia perlu bertindak dengan segera dan mewujudkan mekanisme penyelesaian aduan yang jelas.

Ia adalah kritikal bahawa pemindaan Akta OKU yang sedang dijalankan menangani kelemahan tersebut.

Kami juga bimbang bahawa kekurangan ketelusan dalam proses pemindaan yang sedang dijalankan melanggar prinsip asas “Tiada apa-apa tentang kami, tanpa kami” (Nothing about us without us). Kementerian berkenaan (Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga Dan Masyarakat) mempunyai tanggungjawab kepada warganegara Malaysia untuk:

  • Membolehkan perkongsian secara luas draf pindaan Akta OKU dengan komuniti orang kurang upaya serta kementerian dan jabatan yang lain, serta
  • Menyediakan peluang yang secukupnya untuk mendapatkan pandangan dari pengundi Malaysia dan mengambil kira pandangan mereka secara prihatin

Ini adalah supaya maklum balas atas draf pindaan Akta OKU dapat dikumpul untuk semakan lanjut sebelum rang undang-undang dibentangkan di Parlimen. Langkah-langkah ini adalah perlu supaya Malaysia mempunyai sebuah akta yang kukuh dan boleh dikuatkuasakan – sebuah akta yang menjadi kebanggaan semua rakyat Malaysia apabila dibandingkan dengan negara-negara lain.

Selain daripada itu, ia adalah teramat penting untuk meminda Perkara 8(2) dan 12(1) dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan dengan memasukkan satu perkataan, iaitu ketidakupayaan, untuk melarang secara nyata diskriminasi berasaskan ketidakupayaan.

Sekiranya kerajaan membenarkan pemindaan dan penggubalan Akta OKU yang masih tidak berkuasa serta tidak selaras dengan semangat dan hasrat Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya, maka kita sebagai sebuah negara akan menggagalkan seluruh komuniti orang kurang upaya dan rakan-rakan sekutu kami, malah generasi masa depan rakyat Malaysia.

Hormat dan amanah adalah nadi kepada Malaysia Madani di bawah pimpinan Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim. Kami berharap supaya dapat melihat nadi Malaysia Madani direalisasikan dalam pemindaan Akta OKU yang benar-benar selaras dengan Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya.

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Yuenwah San
Ng Lai-Thin
The OKU Rights Matter Project

English version

How far behind regional countries is Malaysia in its disability legislation?

Malaysia made a good start in passing the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (PwD Act) and ratifying in 2010 the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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However, people with disabilities, disability activists, disability civil society organisations and care partners for people with disabilities have long voiced that the PwD Act has not been implemented, is not enforceable, lacks critical elements and is thus powerless in upholding and protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

Hence, the ongoing amendment of the PwD Act must be harmonised with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and take into consideration all the general comments and guidelines issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

A special project team has been set up to work on the amendments to the PwD Act. However, it is unclear to what extent its members have done the following in order to do justice to their important task:

• Studied all the general comments and other relevant documents issued by the CRPD
• Consulted with the wider community of people with disabilities
• Compared disability legislation in neighbouring countries

Malaysia’s neighbours have domestic policy and legislation that are more harmonised with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the explicit upholding of the rights of people with disabilities and protection against discrimination on the grounds of disability.
Among them are, for example, India, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, China (including Hong Kong), as well as Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

What progress have regional countries made in their disability legislation? The table below offers a brief comparison with disability laws of selected countries regarding harmonisation with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

It does not include harmonisation of other domestic legislation in diverse sectors (federal to local) with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A more detailed analysis is available from these links: Harmonisation of domestic legislation with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitie – OKU Rights Matter; Policy and legislation: Other countries – OKU Rights Matter.


Note: in both Thailand and Indonesia, all major organisations of persons with diverse disabilities are united and work together in cross-disability solidarity. This solidarity enables good representation and advocacy in working with the government on the implementation and enforcement of their respective acts.

In contrast, Malaysia is very, very far behind regional neighbours in its disability legislation and disability rights. For many years, these countries already have legislation that far outstrips ours – a broad definition of disability, comprehensive definitions of discrimination and harassment, independent disability commissions, clear grievance redress mechanisms and the absence of ouster clauses.

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We are concerned over our nation’s performance record as a leading Asean member state in its failure to harmonise domestic legislation following the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Requiring urgent remedial action is the absence of a viable mechanism supportive of upholding and protecting the rights of people with disabilities who have experienced discrimination, ie a clear grievance redress mechanism.

It is critical that the ongoing amendment of Malaysia’s PwD Act addresses these shortfalls.

We are also concerned that the lack of transparency of the amendment process violates the fundamental principle of “Nothing about us without us”.

The concerned ministry (Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development) has a responsibility to Malaysian citizens to enable wide sharing of the draft amendments with the community of people with disabilities, other ministries and departments, as well as providing adequate opportunity for genuinely seeking and considering the views of concerned Malaysian voters.

All this is to generate feedback for further revision of the amendments before the bill containing the draft amendments is tabled in Parliament for debate.

These steps are necessary to enable Malaysia to have a strong amended act that can be enforced — an amended Act that everyone in Malaysia can be proud of when it is compared with that of other countries.

Furthermore, it would be of utmost importance to include one word -disability – in an amendment of Articles 8(2) and 12(1) of the Federal Constitution, to expressly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability.

If the government condones the production of an amended PwD Act that is still powerless and not harmonised with the spirit and intent of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, then we will, as a nation, have all failed the entire community of people with disabilities and our allies and future generations of Malaysia.

Respect and trust are at the heart of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Malaysia Madani (Civil Malaysia). We hope to see the reality of Malaysia Madani in the meaningful amendment of the PwD Act that is genuinely harmonised with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Yuenwah San
Ng Lai-Thin
The OKU Rights Matter Project

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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