Museums, galleries must be disabled–friendly: Malaysia
KLANG: All museums and galleries need to become disabled–friendly to ensure these public places are accessible to everyone.
Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal said only some museums and galleries in cities like Kuala Lumpur were disabled–friendly while others lacked infrastructure for people with special needs.
Shafie said he had asked the Museum Department to look into areas for improvement to provide accessibility.
"There may be a bit of a problem (in putting up the necessary facilities) due to the current economic climate but we still have to plan and build them," he said Friday after visiting Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery here.
Shafie said these public places were centres of information and should ensure they provided the best possible access to everyone.
He said museums and galleries could build ramps for the wheelchair bound and include audio information for the visually challenged.
Disseminating information on the collections and displays to the people was the whole purpose of having a museum, he said.
He also said that those managing museums and galleries should ensure sufficient parking spaces for visitors as well as food stalls if necessary.
During the visit, Shafie said the management of the royal gallery had done a good job in preserving the 99–year–old Sultan Suleiman building, where the gallery is housed.
"All parties including individuals and private owners of heritage buildings should do the same in preserving this heritage," he said, adding that heritage buildings must not be destroyed for commercial purposes.
Shafie also said he had directed the Heritage commissioner to go round the country to check and identify heritage buildings as part of the effort to protect them.
In another development, Shafie announced that five Warisan Orang Hidup (living persons who have contributed immensely to the development of culture, arts and heritage).
The Warisan Orang Hidup are Badron Sabor (penglipurlara), Abu Bakar Jaafar (boria), Losimum Majanil (Bobohizan ? arts and culture of Kadazan Dusun), Tan Hooi Song (traditional drums) and Vatsala Sivadas (Bharathanatyam classical dance).
Source: http://thestar.com.my
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