AID (Access & Inclusion for the Disabled) was delighted to receive a call from one of the three companies bidding for the Penang Monorail Project (Melewar Integrated Engineering), requesting us meet them to discuss the access needs of those with reduced mobility (disabled, elderly, infirm, pregnant ladies and those with babies and small children in pushchairs) to ensure that MIE's proposal for the project will truly provide access for all.

The commitment of MIE to ensure that their proposal will incorporate facilities to provide access to all who wish to use the Penang Monorail is truly commendable, and their sincerity sets a shining example, which should be emulated by all.

Interestingly, we were informed that for a new project, there are virtually no additional costs involved to make the infrastructure accessible to everyone. Some essential facilities to facilitate access for all, are for example, proper parking spaces for the disabled, wheelchair ramps to access the buildings, Braille labels, lifts, tactile platform edge warning marks, audible (for the blind) and visual (for the deaf) announcements at stations and on board trains, designated seat and wheelchair spaces for the disabled, emergency 'panic' buttons, staff assistance, allowing service dogs to travel with their owners, etc, etc.

One cannot help but wonder why here in Malaysia, almost every building, every public transport system, every pavement, every pedestrian road crossing, and most public lavatories are still inaccessible to all but fully able bodied members of society.

It is shameful that the disabled, the elderly, the infirm, pregnant ladies and those with babies and small children in prams and pushchairs, are sidelined, ignored and marginalised. Is Malaysia not a caring society? Do the authorities not have a policy to formulate legislation to outlaw discrimination based on disability, or the lack of mobility?

The government urgently needs to set up a Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) as an independent body to advise it on the transport needs of all disabled people, as well to advise ministers on the needs of disabled people in the built environment. Through an inclusive environment group, this can quickly and easily be done if it is based on the proven United Kingdom model.

AID members hope and pray that whichever company wins the bids for the Penang Monorail will fully address the needs of everyone and ensure that the system is designed, built and operated in such a way as to make it accessible to all.

There have been many false promises, and the disabled community has been let down and disappointed too many times in the past. Let the Penang Monorail be the catalyst for change, and an example of access and inclusion for all which Malaysia can be proud of.

It can be done, it must be done, all that is needed is the political will and builders who are sincere, caring, and pro-active. The disabled, both local and visitors from overseas, are, after all, customers too.

The writer is secretary, Support Group Society for the Blind of Malaysia (SGSB).