Disabled, ignored and exploited

This is the highlight for The Star (Malaysian newspapers).


WHEN our local taxi drivers see a disabled person trying to flag them down, more often than not, they turn a blind eye.

“If you are a disabled person, chances are you will go unnoticed in Kuala Lumpur”, is what the disabled have been telling the media and friends.

We put this to the test to gauge whether cabbies are sensitive to the needs of the disabled.

I went undercover in a wheelchair around the city for four hours. And I found out ... Yes! Taxi drivers pretend that a disabled person in a wheelchair does not exist. They look the other way.

Only one in 12 taxis that I tried to flag down stopped for someone in a wheelchair. The others just drove by.

All in all, I tried to flag down almost 60 taxis. Only five taxi drivers stopped to ask where I wanted to go.

Of the five, two tried to swindle me.

“If I take you to Kajang, I will have to return empty. So I have to charge you both ways. One way is RM30, so the fare is RM60,” said one.

Another cabbie at the Bintang Walk, stopped and ogled at a foreign tourist and boasted that he had made love to almost all nationalities who were his passengers in the past 12 years.

He went on for 10 minutes and then parted with a word of caution: “Tell all your friends not to let their daughters marry a taxi driver.”

My undercover work started at 10am when The Star van dropped me off at the Hilton Hotel car park, and I tried to wheel myself across to the taxi stand at KL Sentral.

A policeman who saw me struggling rushed over and helped me across the road dividers.

There were about 10 taxis waiting in single file for passengers. I tried to hail them but they ignored me.

Of the 23 taxis I tried to stop at KL Sentral, only two stopped to ask where I wanted to go.

Ahmad Yahaya, 43, said he was willing to take me to Kajang.

“If you wait here, I will go and get you a coupon and I can take you to Kajang.”

“Can my wheelchair fit in your taxi?” I asked him, and he said, “No problem. I have taken wheelchair-bound passengers before.

“It is my duty to take anyone who wants to go in a taxi. Thank you for stopping me and asking me to give you a ride,” he said.

Ahmad was a helpful taxi driver and I could see his enthusiasm in wanting to help a disabled person.

In contrast, the majority of taxi drivers ignored the disabled. Many of them pretended to talk on the mobile phone, covered their face behind a newspaper or just ignored me and drove away.

My next stop was the Kota Raya bus stand.

Just like the taxi drivers at KL Sentral, the cabbies here did not look at me.

However, one taxi driver responded.

As he walked towards me, he asked me: “Where do you want to go?”

I said: “Rawang”.

“Okay! But it will cost you double.”

I asked him why and his reply was the same as the earlier taxi driver.

After lunch, I sat patiently by the main road next to the Salak South post office and of the nine taxis I tried to stop, only one did.

The driver, Wong Kam Sang, 67, was prepared to take me. But because I was supposedly heading to Rawang, he apologised for not being able to do so as he had a prior appointment in 20 minutes.

I told him I understood and appreciated the fact that he cared enough to stop.

The rain came soon after and it was time to call it a day.

Despite the bleak conclusion about how heartless the city is with regard to the transport needs of the disabled, I saw a ray of hope in people like Wong and Ahmad.