GE14: Disabled-friendly facilities at polling centres

PUTRAJAYA: Having disabled-friendly facilities at polling centres will not only allow persons with disabilities to exercise their voting rights as Malaysian citizens comfortably, but also encourage them to cast their votes in the 14th general election (GE14).
After taking into account the needs of the group and the suggestion by non-governmental organisations such as the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Malaysia, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to provide various facilities to ensure a smooth polling process for disabled voters.
Election Academy (APR) director Hasanul Isyraf Naim said the EC would allow disabled voters, especially those in wheelchairs and whose polling channels were at an upper floor of multi-storey premises, to cast their ballot on the ground floor of the buildings.
"However, the disabled voters must first obtain permission from the head of the polling station (KTM) and follow 10 steps including verifying their personal information and filing up the Form 11 or the declaration form.
"The process will also be observed by polling agents (representatives of candidates or contesting parties) to ensure the polling process is conducted in a transparent manner," he told Bernama in an interview at his office, recently.
Hasanul Isyraf said the polling centre agents must also sign the EC 765 Form to ensure that the process had been carried out properly.
However, he said that due to the complexity of the procedure, most KTMs would likely ask for election workers to carry the disabled voters to the upper floor.
Other disabled-friendly facilities that would be provided were ramps to facilitate the movement of disabled voters at polling centres, he added.
EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah in a statement recently said that the commission would provide better facilities for the disabled during the GE14 including by allowing family members or reliable persons to help them during polling.
Wheelchairs would also be provided at polling centres for the elderly or disabled voters.
Statistics by the Social Welfare Department which can be accessed at data.gov.my showed that a total of 17,282 persons with physical impairments were registered with the department as of March 28.
Yesterday, the EC announced May 9 as the polling date in the GE14, while nomination was set for April 28 and early voting for May 5.
Registered voters can check their status via the smart phone application MySPR Semak or EC's official portal at www.spr.gov.my or through SMS by typing SPR followed by the identity card number and sending an SMS to 15888 or contact EC 03-88927018. — Bernama