A dire need for disabled-friendly facilities

KUALA LUMPUR: There is an urgent need to map more disabled-friendly facilities in Malaysia's financial institutions.
In a move to find solutions to the matter, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has taken the initiative to launch the “OKU Awareness Programme – Towards a More Inclusive Financial System” that will encourage 50 banks, insurance and takaful companies to map disabled-friendly facilities.
BNM assistant governor Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya said to date Maybank has 49 branches designated as disabled-friendly, where the financial institution allocates a budget for certain number of branches with proper ramps, auto doors, and automated teller machines (ATMs) with bigger space and lower height to cater for wheelchair-bound customers and designated counters for disabled customers.
“However, to ensure a friendly environment for the disabled, individual financial institutions are encouraged to address immediate needs such as, providing lower counters, 'talking' ATMs for visually impaired people, sign language interpreters for the deaf and offer appropriate insurance products,” he said during a press conference after the launch today.
“As such, I would like to call upon everyone here, let us embrace this journey together towards a more caring and responsible industry by ensuring the needs of the persons with disabilities are provided for,” he added.
BNM has introduced a device known as "ringgit cash test card" for the visually impaired, Abu Hassan Alshari said.
The device is a credit card sized plastic card with Braille markings as well as tactile symbols to denote each denomination to help the visually impaired in identifying bank notes and coins.
Speaking to theSun, National Council for Orang Kurang Upaya (OKU) councillor Dr Wong Huey Siew, who is visually impaired, said all banks are advised to implement disabled-friendly facilities, such as ATMs with audio instructions and Braille keypads, like how India had installed for the blind in 2014.
Also present at the event were Women with Disabilities Association president Senator Bathmavathi Krishnan and International Islamic University Malaysia professor Dr Ruzita Muhammad Amin.