People With Disabilities Of Deaf Doubles Come To KSP, Announce Rights Equivalence

JAKARTA - The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) received the arrival of the Deaf Association (Pelita), an organization with blind two-tidle disability, Friday, September 16. The chairman of Pelita Candra Gunawan revealed that their arrival was to ask for equalization of rights related to public services and involvement in policy changes.

Candra admits that currently, many issues of disability have been echoed. However, not many know that there are people with double disabilities who have escaped the provision of accessibility and participation of policy changes.

Not many know the existence of multiple persons with disabilities, especially blind people. This is the time for people with disabilities to be equalized as other people with disabilities, and non-disabled people," said Candra.

He conveyed that there were three strategic issues promoted by Pelita in a meeting with the Presidential Staff Office. Namely, assistance and alertness of public services, such as hospitals, administrative offices, or public transportation modes.

In addition, continued Candra, Pelita also brings aspirations regarding the development of accessable touch sign language for people with double disabilities, and the importance of assistance and training that is in accordance with the needs of people with blind hearing impairments.

In response to this, Deputy V of the Presidential Chief of Staff Jaleswari Pramodhawardani emphasized that President Joko Widodo has a serious commitment to the involvement of persons with disabilities, both related to government services and policy making.

Jaleswari said Law No. 8/2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities became a reference for the government to implement respect, protection, fulfillment, enforcement, and promotion of human rights for persons with disabilities in Indonesia.

"The President's statement about disability services as a measure of the progress of the nation's civilization, is a serious commitment," he said.

Meanwhile, in relation to mentoring and training, the Expert Staff Office of the Presidential Staff Office, Sunarman Sukamto, ensured that the Presidential Staff Office would encourage ministries/agencies so that the in-depth training and assistance of blind deaf people can be included in the higher education curriculum, and the briefing of ASN candidates.

So that the mainstreaming of inclusion runs systemically and structured. We will accompany and remind policy makers to involve people with double disabilities in policymaking," said Sunarman.

For information, the Deaf Association (Pelita) was established in 2019. This organization focuses on a variety of total and visually weak people with total and visually weak disabilities, total and total blind, total hearing and blind, and hearing weak and visually weak.