Impractical term

KEMAMAN, June 13 — People with a disability should not be referred to as “disabled” but rather “People with Special Ability” as that would best fit their description said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

Thoughtful indeed, but I can help to think it’s purely sugar coating. If he was trying to score points with the disabled community, the minister is definitely shooting blanks.

What’s in a name you tell me. Unless a disabled person on wheelchair possesses a super special ability to overcome insurmountable environmental barriers or get to ride on a wheelchair-unfriendly public bus, a shit by any other name would smell as bad.

That’s the stinking reality. The struggle we have to put up with in order to lead a normal and meaningful life like our able-bodied counterparts IS the reality, and this is the area where the powers-that-be should put some extra effort into.

Everybody’s capable of coining with phrases. And in this case to come up with the most politically correct term usable will not provide us an inch of progress. If there’s a need to change, the word special should be replaced with beneficial instead.

Personally I don’t mind the rudest expression one could think of as long practical changes are made.

So until the government comes up with something beneficial, I’m sticking with the commonly-used term, the disabled person.

Or crips, or cacat...whatever.