For the disabled, getting around an apartment or flat with the lift is not only convenient, but also vital for their mobility as they depend on it to get to where they need to be.
Unfortunately for the disabled residents of Apartment Permata Fadason in Kepong, they have to either crawl down the stairs or stay cooped up at their home due to frequent lift breakdowns.
Wheelchair-bound man forced to take the stairs due to lift malfunction
In a report by The Star, there are two lifts catered to residents at the apartment. One stops at odd-numbered floors while the other stops at even-numbered floors.
However, the lifts have been malfunctioning intermittently for the past two years, causing much frustration for residents, especially those who were disabled.
One of the affected residents, Chow Mei Hsia, said she was forced to cancel two hospital appointments for her spinal injury when the lift broke down on Jan 8 as she was unable to get around on her wheelchair.
Aside from Chow, her husband Anthony Martin is also disabled and uses a wheelchair as he suffers from polio.
The couple, who live on the ninth floor at Block D, said they have to take the other lift to the 10th or eighth floor, then use the stairs to get to their floor.
Anthony has some upper body mobility so he will move down or up the stairs by shuffling his body and pushing his wheelchair at the same time. I can’t do that because my movements are more limited.
“As I’m unable to leave the house, I’m stuck inside and have to survive on instant noodles and eggs most of the time,” she shared.
Chow added that several food delivery riders have rejected her orders whenever she tells them that she’s unable to collect it herself.
After lodging multiple complaints about the lifts with Permata Fadason Block D, E, F Joint Management Body (JMB), Chow was informed that the problem was due to poor maintenance fee collection, where residents pay RM65 monthly.
Kepong MP offers financial help
Following The Star’s report, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng held a press conference to address the matter, where he revealed that he couldn’t get the authorities to help as the apartment was managed by a private entity.
According to a text message sent to a resident, the JMB said a lift contractor was willing to repair the lifts only if they was able to provide a RM30,000 downpayment.
Lim said he was ready to use his own funds to carry out repair works if the JMB and residents worked together.
“If the JMB is able to allocate RM50,000 for lift repairs, I will match that with a RM50,000 allocation. The amount of RM100,000 should be enough to fix at least two lifts.
“The residents here need to fulfil their responsibility and pay their maintenance fees so that the JMB can ensure the common facilities are repaired and maintained.”
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