The disabled community in Malaysia yesterday revealed publicly for the first time that they have never been consulted by any party regarding their needs and problems.

Speaking out at a one-day human rights training programme in Kuala Lumpur, the 30-odd participants poured out their daily frustrations and growing-up pains in a society insensitive to the needs of special people.

"We've had to put up with a lot of discrimination and humiliation in our life, and still are. For example, we often have to fight with security guards to park near to an entrance at shopping malls or hospitals," said Anthony Thanasayan, who was born with a deformed spine and is confined to a wheelchair.

"This is a perennial problem for us because the special lot allotted for the disabled is usually located the furthest from the entrance or it would have been occupied by another car, usually a BMW or Mercedes, belonging to an able-bodied bigshot.

"In developed countries, parking lots for the disabled are right next to the entrance," said the 42-year-old who also has a column on the physically disabled in English daily The Star .

The training was jointly organised by Rawang-based Independent Living and Training Centre and Era Consumer Malaysia in conjunction with the International Day of Disabled Persons themed 'Independent Living and Sustainable Livelihood'.

Era, which has undertaken the role of facilitator for the disabled community, will submit a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) based on today's outcome.

One major discrimination faced by disabled persons was in the job sector where most said they were dropped after the interviews due to their physical appearance although they had basic skills or computer knowledge.