Disability Rights Committee

About This Committee 

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In Malaysia, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) or Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) in Malay, face entrenched discrimination across education, employment, healthcare, financial services, public transport, and digital access. Yet Malaysia's Federal Constitution does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the ground of disability — a foundational gap that leaves persons with disabilities without the same constitutional protection afforded on the grounds of religion, race, descent, place of birth, and gender.

 

AWL's Disability Rights Committee works in the context of a dual mandate: As a women's rights organisation, we recognise that women and girls with disabilities face compounded discrimination; and that disability justice cannot be separated from gender justice.

 

We work alongside the Bar Council's Committee on Persons with Disabilities, the Harapan OKU Law Reform Group, and the broader OKU Rights Matter coalition to advocate for legislative reform, constitutional amendment, and a Malaysian legal framework that genuinely upholds the rights of all persons with disabilities.

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Key Issues We Work On

 

• Constitutional amendment. AWL supports the call to amend Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution to explicitly include "disability" as a prohibited ground of discrimination. This reform would provide the constitutional foundation for meaningful legal protection and the harmonisation of all related legislation.

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• Reform of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008. The PwD Act 2008, as currently enacted, lacks enforcement mechanisms and falls far short of Malaysia's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). AWL is part of the coalition calling for a comprehensive revision of the Act to give it the scope and powers to enforce PwD / OKU rights meaningfully.

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• CRPD harmonisation. Malaysia signed the CRPD in 2008 and ratified it in 2010, yet as of 2025 has not submitted its initial report which is now more than a decade overdue. AWL advocates for urgent harmonisation of domestic legislation with the CRPD across education, employment, health, financial services, accessibility, and political participation.

 

Committee Lead: Meera Samanther and Cindy Low 

 

Get involved

 

Members who wish to contribute to disability rights advocacy — whether through legal research / policy submissions / coalition engagement, are welcome to contact the Committee. Lawyers with interest or experience in constitutional law, administrative law, employment law, or human rights are especially encouraged to get in touch.