Social Affairs Minister Clarifies Forcing Deaf Boy to Speak

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Social Affairs Minister Rismaharini, or Risma, on Friday issued a statement asserting that she sympathizes with people with disabilities after she was blasted for forcing a deaf child wearing hearing aids to speak during the commemoration event of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the ministry building on Wednesday, December 1.

Risma said she was only making sure that the hearing aids worn by the person was working well. She added she intended to encourage the person to maximize his hearing ability, albeit in a very controversial way. 

“I intended to make sure that the hearing aids worked well. Because they would only harm him if it didn’t,” she said on December 3. 

She then recalled a dreadful experience when she was the mayor of Surabaya where a hearing-impaired person was killed after being struck by a train. “I just wanted to make sure they could get the message across in some way. They must be able to react to their environment, especially if it endangers their lives and honor, whether by sound, hand gestures, or the tools they wear,” she said.

However, she said she only asked the persons with disabilities to react to her command by making a sound. "On that occasion, I asked them to try to speak up. For some people with hearing impairments, speaking is not an easy job. Now, I ask them to ask, you know, so that they can strive beyond the limit,” said Risma. 

Her action drew criticism from the Coalition of Anti-Audism Persons with Disabilities Organizations that argued the Social Minister had clearly forced a deaf person to communicate with their mouth, despite knowing that they communicate with sign language. The coalition also bemoaned Minister Risma’s unwillingness to apologize and admit her blunder.

The coalition believed her actions against people with disabilities was a blatant act of audism, which is a term used to describe a negative attitude toward deaf or hard-of-hearing people. 

Read: Minister Risma Slammed for Forcing Deaf, Mute Boy to Speak

ANTARA | KUKUH S. WIBOWO