Welcome to Brickfields, a neighbourhood which has for the longest time been associated with the visually impaired.

Sumitha Thavanendran, the research and development head for the Malaysian Association of the Blind, said a majority of Klang Valley’s blind populace are concentrated in Brickfields, with an estimated working population of 1,500.

Since the development of the Gurney Training Centre in 1952, she said, Brickfields has become a crucial space for the blind to feel more comfortable socialising, working, and living.

Brickfields is home to organisations such as the MAB, the Society of the Blind Malaysia, the National Council for the Blind Malaysia, and the Malaysian Foundation for the Blind.

“Many of the blind (in Malaysia) would be tied back to Brickfields, one way or another. Many of them either reside in Brickfields for a little bit before they’re prepared to move to another area, or, in most cases, they live elsewhere, and eventually find their way back here,” Sumitha told FMT.

However, the rapid urban sprawl has yielded concerns over lacklustre safety and infrastructure in the area.

Hermi Abd Rohim, owner of Patella Blind Massage in Brickfields, who has been visually impaired since he was eight, said indifferences to road rules made it “quite difficult” for the community.

“People like us have to be extra careful with everything, because drivers tend to ignore red lights,” he said.

Murugan Kumar, a freelance worker in the city, agreed, pointing out that the paths built for the differently abled are treated as parking bays for motorcycles and cars.

“These OKU walkways are all we have to rely on,” he said, referring to the Malay acronym for the disabled. “If we can’t follow the shape of it, then we’re just bumping into people and vehicles left and right.”

However, he said the obstruction of blind-friendly infrastructure was much worse elsewhere, adding that people would often sit on, or leave stray trolleys atop OKU pathways at transit stations.

The threat of petty theft and pick-pocketing also runs rampant in Brickfields – and at a much larger scale towards the disabled.

Anna Loo, a mother of two who has been operating Blind Touch Massage Services for the past 25 years, said there had been several cases where her clients stole items such as phones or laptops off store counters, taking advantage of her employees’ impairment.

“Occasionally, people just scam us directly. For a RM50 session, a client once gave me a counterfeit RM100 bill, and I gave RM50 back as change. I only found out that I had been cheated the next day, when a friend pointed out the fake bill to me.”

Nonetheless, they agreed there was nowhere else like Brickfields that could accommodate the blind, adding that some tend to move elsewhere but would return after a couple of months.

With the blind community congregated in the area, Loo stressed the significance of a place where shop owners and residents were already familiar with them.

“Shop owners here are accommodating to us. They already know what to do. Some banks and post offices even have special counters for us. If we head out a little further to Cheras or Petaling Jaya, they won’t know what to do with us,” she said.

Restaurants such as R.R.C., and the Mamak Cafe were recommended by Sumitha for their accessibility. Their employees told FMT they had no problems serving the visually impaired.

 Stiff competition

Sumitha said the massage industry is a big part of the local community, as it allows them to work independently and they do not require any academic qualifications aside from the vocational certificate provided by the department of skills development.

“The blind finish their training here at MAB, and often go off to operate their own shops within the area. From there, they give other visually impaired folk the opportunity to come and work for them. That’s what makes this industry so integral,” she said.

She noted that occupational freedom was different for the blind back in the 1970s and 80s as the emergence of AI had rendered popular occupations such as telephone operators and administrative staff obsolete.

“Not to mention, we have a lot of competition with sighted folk now. There weren’t as many (sighted people in the industry) back then, but things are different now.”

Hermi agreed, adding that Chinese and Thai massage stores were popping up everywhere.

They hoped there would be less discrimination towards the visually impaired, emphasising that they are qualified physical therapists and trained in reflexology – and should be seen as such.

“We specialise in treating injuries, so don’t be afraid to come see us. People think we’re always up to some hanky-panky in our shops, but that’s just not true at all,” he said.