The Malaysian Animal-assisted Therapy for the Disabled and the Elderly Association (PetPositive) would like to applaud the Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah from the bottom of our hearts for his most timely call to make our public gardens friendly to all Malaysians with handicaps.

The sultan mentioned the disabled’s plight when he ordered the Klang Royal Garden landscape consultant - Tajul Landart - to scrap a number of items costing RM7.5mil, saying it was a waste of public funds.

The fact that the Selangor Sultan stopped to consider the needs of the handicapped when most people and local governments seem to only care about development at any cost shows what a truly caring leader Tuanku is.

His timely call and forward-thinking view will contribute significantly to how people will view the handicapped from now on. They should never be seen as persons who are punished by God, or as ‘patients’, ‘sick persons’ or ‘charity cases’ for the rest of their lives.

Taking the cue from our royalty, people can now start to see disabled Malaysians as also equal citizens who should be given the same rights and facilities to enjoy public recreational parks like others.

All recreational parks should be completely wheelchair-friendly and must provide disabled- friendly toilets. Playgrounds for children must be made with special facilities that disabled children can also use them. (Such facilities are commonly available overseas and our local governments should make an effort to bring them here too.)

Wheelchairs should also be provided for persons with walking difficulties or the elderly who may require them. Special consideration should also be given to pets that play a positive role in the lives of disabled persons. Recreational parks that currently disallow dogs and other animals should be willing to make exceptions to their rule.

Dogs can help the blind find their way about independently. They can help wheelchair-users to by pulling them along. They can help epileptics when they have an attack, by warning them of an oncoming attack and staying by their side until the episode is over. Canines are also a deterrent for crime and provide comfort and happiness for the elderly.

The writer is president, PetPositive.