Dept: Doctor’s certification needed to make OKU card

THOSE who become disabled because of diseases can receive a disabled person’s (OKU) card if they get a doctor’s certificate confirming their condition, said state Social Welfare Department deputy director R. Chitarthany.

The certification will have to be done in a public or private hospital and not at a specialists’ centre or general practitioner’s clinic.

“To be recognised as an OKU and to receive all benefits and privileges, a person must have a permanent physical disability,” she said yesterday.

Commenting on driver Ooi Chee Lin’s case, Chitarthany said she could get an OKU card for her mother if a doctor certified her disability.

“The blue parking lots are for the convenience of disabled persons only.

“To prevent abuse of this privilege, our department needs to verify the status of disabled persons,” she said.

In a press conference earlier, Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Maimunah Sharif said Penang island had about 60 OKU parking lots and to date, 843 OKU car stickers had been issued.

“We get a lot of complaints from disabled persons who are drivers,” said Maimunah.

“They often find able-bodied drivers using the blue parking lots.That is why we have to be strict.”