[Watch] Malaysian Para-Athlete Confronts Man For Washing Clothes In OKU Toilet
Malaysian para-athlete Daniel Lee had to wait to use the disabled-friendly toilet for 1.5 hours in Pavilion KL.
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People with disabilities (OKU) often face inaccessibility issues in society. Their inaccessibility issues are further exacerbated by able-bodied people using facilities meant to accommodate them.
On Tuesday (21 March), Malaysian para-athlete and OKU advocate Daniel Lee had to use the restroom in Pavilion KL.
However, the toilet was occupied by someone else. He decided to wait although he suspected the person inside wasn’t a disabled individual.
After waiting for about 1.5 hours, Daniel couldn’t wait anymore and knocked on the door 3 to 5 times to confirm someone was inside.
The person inside said they were not done. Daniel called the mall’s management for help but when the man emerged from the toilet, he tried to shrug it off.
Daniel confronted the man and asked him why he washed his clothes in the disabled toilet for so long.
The man explained that he recently moved out of his residence and wanted to wash his clothes before taking the bus back to his hometown.
He explained he didn’t want to wash his clothes in the regular men’s bathroom.
Despite getting caught red-handed, he insisted there was nothing wrong with using the bathroom when no one was using it.
He also said he thought it was the cleaner knocking on the door instead of Daniel, to which Daniel explained it didn’t matter who knocked on the door.
Daniel asked the man to apologise and to wait for security to arrive to clarify the mall’s policy about the incident.
The man became angry and told Daniel to shut up when Daniel kept questioning. He tried to get away via the elevator and when Daniel followed him in, he quickly got out and tried to walk off.
Daniel assured him multiple times that he would drop the matter if the penalty is high but he just wanted to clarify the matter with the management.
Daniel posted the videos on his Instagram to further explain the situation. He shared that he wasn’t trying to shame the man and explained that he didn’t blur the man’s photo because he didn’t know how to.
He added that the mall management can only politely tell able-bodied persons not to use the disabled restrooms.
Daniel hoped that more could be done by the authorities in all disabled-friendly facilities so that similar incidents do not occur.
Netizens praised Daniel for speaking up and for holding the man accountable for his actions.
However, some believe the man was homeless and advised Daniel to put himself in the man’s shoes.
A netizen said Daniel could have used another restroom. In response, Daniel said able-bodied people have more restroom options compared to the OKU community.
Daniel also pointed out that other disabled persons in the comments have shared their similar issues and asked why they should just accept when others abuse the use of OKU facilities.
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