Disabled drivers protest against RTD’s new ruling

(Sun Daily) – “We have to see a specialist each time we want to renew our driving licence, which is a hassle for us. I do not see the purpose of having the disabled’s identity card for anymore”

A group of disabled people from five non-governmental organisations today held a protest against the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) new policy requiring them to get a letter from a doctor each time they want to renew their driving licence.

The protest in front of the RTD office in Wangsa Maju at about 11am involved representatives from Petpositive, Malaysian Spinal Cord Injury Association (Masia), Yayasan Ehsan, Adult Blind Association of Selangor (Abas) and Independent Living and Training Centre.

In April, the Transport Ministry implemented waived the driving licence fee for disabled people but RTD came out a policy that requires these drivers to get a doctor’s letter when applying for exemption of the fee on renewing their driving licence.

“We have to see a specialist each time we want to renew our driving licence, which is a hassle for us. I do not see the purpose of having the disabled’s identity card for anymore,” said Petpositive president Siva Balan Thanasayan, before he and the other protesters threw their disabled’s identity cards into the dustbin in a symbolic move.

The group said the disabled should be required to produce a doctor’s certification only for renewing their licence for the first time.

Efforts to reach the RTD director-general for comments were unsuccessful.