KUALA LUMPUR: To get a sense of the hardship experienced by the blind, Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain tried the pedestrian walkway at Jalan Thambipillay in Brickfields here with his eyes covered.
During the session on Wednesday (July 12), Comm Mohd Shuhaily, accompanied by acting deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Habibi Majinji and other senior officers, walked the path used by the blind with his eyes covered to experience the hardship of the visually impaired.
(The headquarters of the Malaysian Association for the Blind is on Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4, Brickfields.)
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Comm Mohd Shuhaily said the public should be more responsible in taking care of the walkway.
"What I found is, there are still selfish people who obstruct the path with their vehicles.
"Just imagine if a motorcycle, with its exhaust still hot, is placed on the pathway for the blind.
"It could injure those using the pathway, even if the vehicle is only parked there for a short while.
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"If our own family members are in such a situation (visually impaired), would we have the audacity to obstruct facilities for the blind?" he said after his walk.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily hoped that road users would park at designated locations and not obstruct pathways for the differently abled.
"Road users abiding by traffic laws and practising good driving habits is a form of success in self-discipline.
"I hope that education and discipline in the context of respecting the rights of others can be instilled from primary school onwards.
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"As for the KL police, we create awareness among (the people) through advice, and more advice," he added.
From July 3 to Monday (July 10), a total of 1,061 traffic summonses have been issued for obstructing traffic at Jalan Thambipillay up to the Brickfields Monorail station and for other offences such as blocking pedestrian walkways.
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