Malang, East Java – Dozens of disabled people released a thousand birds in front of City Hall in Malang, East Java, on Monday-which coincides with the International Day of People with Disability, demanding the city administration to improve their access to public services.

The disabled people released the birds as a symbol of their desire to be free from discrimination in accessing public services, said the coordinator of the Malang Care for Disabled People Community (KMPD), Slamet Thohari, as quoted by tempo.co.

"Many disabled people still face difficulties in getting proper health services," he said, adding that they also face discrimination in educational institutions and work places.

The community, therefore, urges the city administration to allocate some of the city's budget for improving the welfare of the disabled, whose number reached 135,000 people of the city's total population of 894,653, according to Slamet.

The City Council Disabled Regional Law Committee's member, Abdul Hakim, however, said that the administration would not be able to meet the demands of the community as it had already set the city's 2013 budget. (han)