From The Star, Malaysia:Life isn’t easy, especially when you’re confined to a wheelchair, or have difficulty getting around because of poor eyesight. Imagine not being able to enter a building or even work because of these handicaps. That’s why buildings…

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From The Star, Malaysia:Life isn’t easy, especially when you’re confined to a wheelchair, or have difficulty getting around because of poor eyesight. Imagine not being able to enter a building or even work because of these handicaps.
That’s
why buildings must have the proper facilities be as accessible as
possible to help those with disabilities get around easier.
Organised
by the Department of Standards Malaysia, KAED Universal Design Unit of
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Kuching North City
Hall (DBKU), the “Access Audit in the Built Environment Seminar” aims to
do just that.
Held over a two-day period at the Sarawak Tourism
Complex, the seminar attracted prominent developers and architects from
around the state who, together with the KAED unit, are working together
to make buildings around Malaysia more accessible to the handicapped and
people with disabilities (PWDs).
“PWDs can be divided into four
categories: those confined to a wheelchair, the vision impaired, the
hearing impaired and those who require a walking aid to move around,”
said KAED Deputy Dean Professor Asiah Abdul Rahim, who presided over the
seminar.
“It is crucial that these people, who deserve to be
treated with the same amount of respect and care just like you and me
get the proper facilities and attention when it comes to accessibility.
“The
objective of this seminar is to raise awareness of builders, developers
and architects when it comes to designing and drawing up plans and
tailoring them to help meet the needs of PWDs,” she explained.
Out
of 16 case studies carried out by the university, only 25% of the
buildings involved were found to have proper accessibility facilities
for PWDs.
“I believe that to achieve Vision 2020, we need to make
sure the connectivity of buildings and architecture around the country
meets the international standards.
“To do that, more PWD friendly
design plans must be approved before being finalised and built.
Thankfully, the response from our participants has been really
supportive and many are looking into ways to implement better
accessibility and connectivity into their construction designs,” she
added.
“Not only that, but also receptionists, general workers
and security guards must be properly trained and instructed on how to
deal with PWDs.”
Over 80 participants, including many of those who are disabled took part in the seminar from Dec 19 to 20.
“From here, we will hopefully carry out many more seminars like this to raise awareness around the country.”
Prof.
Asiah will be travelling to the United States soon to meet many
like-minded researchers and architects to discuss and develop better
ways to make buildings more accessible to those with disabilities.

Source:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/22/sarawak/10141226&sec=sarawak

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