KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 — A group advocating the rights of the disabled, OKU Sentral, vehemently rejected a deputy minister’s suggestion to allow the transgender community to use the toilets reserved for the disabled.

In an open letter to the deputy minister in charge of religious affairs, Fuziah Salleh, founder Ras Adiba Radzi said the disabled were fully entitled to refuse sharing their facilities with the able-bodied.

She said the facilities dedicated to the group have already long been misused by the able-bodied people for other purposes including as smoking rooms, store rooms and rest areas for the cleaning staff.

"We have suffered such abuse for a long time, so why would you propose this?

"Did you not make any research prior to giving this suggestion? Are you concerned at all with the state of our well-being?” she asked in the open letter.

Ras Adiba also said that Fuziah’s suggestion offended the disabled community, and demanded that the Kuantan MP apologise to the group.

"I hope you would think first and respect our feelings before making random suggestions without taking into account our rights,” she added.

Yesterday, Fuziah told reporters that allowing transgenders to use the toilets for the disabled might be the best temporary solution until they gain "full acceptance” from the public.

She said the measure would address both transgenders’ fear of using men’s toilets and the panic that may ensue if women were to encounter transgenders in the ladies washroom.