By Ahmad Daniel Sharani December 05, 2008 Categories: Opinion
Ask anyone when was the last time they stepped foot in Zoo Negara. Chances are the standard answers will be ‘can’t remember, more than a decade ago or even a sheepish never’.
I did that by the way, and one of my wheelchair buddies said that he was still an able-bodied dude when he literally set his foot there which I know was eons ago.
So, I reckoned a visit to the zoo was long overdue.
The difference with this particular trip and other “unknown” destinations was that we did not bother to check beforehand on its accessibility for one reason; this is after all the zoo in our country.
Come on, this is the location where charitable events are frequently held. Ask any cerebral palsy kid with limited mobility and they’ll tell you all about their “recent” excursion to the national zoo.
We were spot-on. Our optimism was not unfounded. Way before we entered the zoo compound, we were thrilled to find out that all Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are exempted from shelling out the entry fee. All we needed was to produce our PWD identification card (commonly known as kad Hijau) and voila, we were free to roam the kingdom 15 bucks richer than our partners.
(In case you are wondering, being cheapskate is never the point with me. After all, the RM15 entry charge for an adult is relatively affordable if you most probably fork this out once in a decade anyway).
Being a non-governmental organisation managed by the Malaysian Zoological Society, the zoo’s policy of making the premises as disabledfriendly as possible is commendable.
Although facility-wise, there’s still room to make it more disabledfriendly, it is evident that obvious thought has gone into accommodating our needs – all pavements leading to the animal enclosures are accessible to wheelchair-users.
It was just simple cement-paved paths and the wheeling along it not exactly the smoothest (ouch, ouch). However, as long as the effort had been put in, we didn’t need Rosa Aurora marbles or the likes to get us going.
Essentially, it’s the practicality that counts. Even a makeshift wooden ramp would have sufficed. What we were delighted with was the sincerity in accommodating PWDs and generally, such efforts are discernible by the sincerity which ultimately is plain to see.
Sometimes, people can be overly critical of establishments like the national zoo. It’s like how we typically generalise or lump all situations in one bag – the beaches along Port Dickson are dismal, all politicians are this, civil servants are that…
The zoo is not spared. We are fed with false perceptions being perpetuated by people who really don’t know any better. In my case, the peddler of misinformation himself had last taken a trip to the zoo more than 10 years ago!
Go see for yourself and then give your views. One really doesn’t have the right to be an armchair critic. Only those who have taken a recent trip can “assess” the zoo’s present state. To be frank, while it is not “wow” or out of this world, neither is it that dismal that it should be last on anyone’s list or deserted.
Basically, any movement or organisation run by an NGO, more often than not, is broke. Let’s presume the Zoological Society too had to go through some bad patches financially. Now, if the public feels there is an urgent need for the zoo management to buck up, then I think it is the same public who should be more responsible, play a proactive role by chipping in and be part of the zoo’s rebuilding process. We, the community, should participate in helping the zoo achieve world-class status, and to be on par with its Singapore counterpart.
Think again. Staying away until the zoo improves is not a solution but a slow process towards devastation itself.
My buddy and I have vowed to return in the near future, minus our Kad Hijau, figuratively. Being on a wheelchair is not just about receiving.
When we have the means why not? It’s time to give something back to society. In this case, RM15 Ringgit each to the welfare charity that houses our representative wildlife and animals.
● Ahmad Daniel Sharani (kerplunk94@ gmail.com) is a committee member of Perwira K9, a support group for people with spinal cord injuries. K9 is the designated ward at Hospital Kuala Lumpur to treat and assist patients in rehabilitation.
This article was taken from: The Malay Mail: Opinion 5 December 2008
Ask anyone when was the last time they stepped foot in Zoo Negara. Chances are the standard answers will be ‘can’t remember, more than a decade ago or even a sheepish never’.
I did that by the way, and one of my wheelchair buddies said that he was still an able-bodied dude when he literally set his foot there which I know was eons ago.
So, I reckoned a visit to the zoo was long overdue.
The difference with this particular trip and other “unknown” destinations was that we did not bother to check beforehand on its accessibility for one reason; this is after all the zoo in our country.
Come on, this is the location where charitable events are frequently held. Ask any cerebral palsy kid with limited mobility and they’ll tell you all about their “recent” excursion to the national zoo.
We were spot-on. Our optimism was not unfounded. Way before we entered the zoo compound, we were thrilled to find out that all Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are exempted from shelling out the entry fee. All we needed was to produce our PWD identification card (commonly known as kad Hijau) and voila, we were free to roam the kingdom 15 bucks richer than our partners.
(In case you are wondering, being cheapskate is never the point with me. After all, the RM15 entry charge for an adult is relatively affordable if you most probably fork this out once in a decade anyway).
Being a non-governmental organisation managed by the Malaysian Zoological Society, the zoo’s policy of making the premises as disabledfriendly as possible is commendable.
Although facility-wise, there’s still room to make it more disabledfriendly, it is evident that obvious thought has gone into accommodating our needs – all pavements leading to the animal enclosures are accessible to wheelchair-users.
It was just simple cement-paved paths and the wheeling along it not exactly the smoothest (ouch, ouch). However, as long as the effort had been put in, we didn’t need Rosa Aurora marbles or the likes to get us going.
Essentially, it’s the practicality that counts. Even a makeshift wooden ramp would have sufficed. What we were delighted with was the sincerity in accommodating PWDs and generally, such efforts are discernible by the sincerity which ultimately is plain to see.
Sometimes, people can be overly critical of establishments like the national zoo. It’s like how we typically generalise or lump all situations in one bag – the beaches along Port Dickson are dismal, all politicians are this, civil servants are that…
The zoo is not spared. We are fed with false perceptions being perpetuated by people who really don’t know any better. In my case, the peddler of misinformation himself had last taken a trip to the zoo more than 10 years ago!
Go see for yourself and then give your views. One really doesn’t have the right to be an armchair critic. Only those who have taken a recent trip can “assess” the zoo’s present state. To be frank, while it is not “wow” or out of this world, neither is it that dismal that it should be last on anyone’s list or deserted.
Basically, any movement or organisation run by an NGO, more often than not, is broke. Let’s presume the Zoological Society too had to go through some bad patches financially. Now, if the public feels there is an urgent need for the zoo management to buck up, then I think it is the same public who should be more responsible, play a proactive role by chipping in and be part of the zoo’s rebuilding process. We, the community, should participate in helping the zoo achieve world-class status, and to be on par with its Singapore counterpart.
Think again. Staying away until the zoo improves is not a solution but a slow process towards devastation itself.
My buddy and I have vowed to return in the near future, minus our Kad Hijau, figuratively. Being on a wheelchair is not just about receiving.
When we have the means why not? It’s time to give something back to society. In this case, RM15 Ringgit each to the welfare charity that houses our representative wildlife and animals.
● Ahmad Daniel Sharani (kerplunk94@ gmail.com) is a committee member of Perwira K9, a support group for people with spinal cord injuries. K9 is the designated ward at Hospital Kuala Lumpur to treat and assist patients in rehabilitation.
This article was taken from: The Malay Mail: Opinion 5 December 2008
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