By Nur Fatihah Irdina
GOMBAK, 5 December 2021: We pledge to do our best in ensuring an all-inclusive environment where all universities will benefit in terms of infrastructure and facilities for persons with disabilities, Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, who is also a representative of Persons With Disabilities in Parliament, said recently.
She was speaking in conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December at a dialogue ‘OKU Di Hati Ku’ organised by the Disability Services Unit (DSU), Office of the Deputy Rector (Student Development and Community Engagement).
It was also an event to mark the launching of ‘OKU4U Sejahtera and Islamic Outreach Flagship Project and IIUM Disability Grand Awareness Campaign 2021’.
Senator Ras Adiba said she feels lucky when given the chance to represent in the senate as a disabled person as well as to be part of the everyday community and decision-making process.
“When I sit and discuss policies with the other senators, I tend to remind them to put themselves in our shoes, and distinguish amongst the seven different categories because in 2030, Malaysia is an aging country. We have to be prepared in all facets including infrastructure, lifelong learning and instilling awareness.”
Following this, Ras Adiba also managed to address the plight of persons with disabilities in everyday lives.
“One of the common conceptions we have to deal with everyday is discrimination. And we have to deal with this in every aspect in our lives, take infrastructure for example. When ramps, handrails, OKU parking spaces and others are built in buildings, the OKU-based policies are often neglected.
As such, we try our best to refer to the international standards and ensure the buildings that are built are accessible to everyone,” Ras Adiba remarked.
“In the near future, we pledge to give our best in ensuring an all-inclusive environment where all universities may benefit from because for the time being, there is an increase in government allocations but universities are not included. We will try to push for this matter,” Ras Adiba added.***