Page 6 - Mainstreamer e-Magazine 01 June 2022 - Final (4)

BARRIER FREE SOCIETY
Persons with Disabilities Act 2008. However, this
act does not comprehensively cover this issue. The
Ministry of Finance, the Association of Banks in
Malaysia, the Malaysian Association for the Blind,
and the National Council for the Blind, Malaysia
agreed to address this issue. The obligation should
be shouldered by the Central Bank of Malaysia.
Different commercial banks have various
regulations for blind and visually impaired
customers. Some banks reject applications made
by blind and visually impaired persons, as they
consider this group to be potentially vulnerable
customers. Other banks accept blind and visually
impaired clients to open an account. However,
they are not allowed to use credit cards and online
banking services due to their internal policies.
The accessibility among banking websites and
applications is also different due to the lack of
compatibility of screen reader technology.
Although the cash test card has been invented, most
blind and visually impaired persons in Malaysia do not
know how to use it. (Photo by Muhammad Marwan
Mohd Tanos)
To recognize banknotes, blind and visually
impaired users mainly depend on the surface and
5 Vol. 01, Issue 1 | June 2022
size of the notes to decide the denomination. Most
of them do not know how to use cash test cards
because they have not been trained to use them.
Due to the lack of standard policy frameworks,
support facilities, accessibility, and misperceptions
from commercial banks, blind and visually impaired
persons feel marginalized from banking activities.
Various government agencies, mainly, the
Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of
Malaysia, through collaboration with commercial
banks should unite to facilitate favorable conditions
for the blind and visually impaired persons to use
accessible banking services and use banknotes.
Clarification of accessibility through existing laws
is required to ensure information technologies be
made available to persons with disabilities.
Reasonable accommodation, such as Braille
letters, audio materials, increased font sizes,
and other types of technologies are guaranteed
by law. A clear implementation plan should
also be developed and implemented. Other
accommodations should also be taken into
consideration, including captioning on videos,
computer programs that are audible for people
who have a visual impairment, accessible features
that should be added to currency, and improved
banking infrastructure to make the banking sector
PWDs-friendly.
Currently, the author is working on a family-oriented
project, where he works with parents who have a child
with a disability. He facilitates these families on ways to
help and form an inclusive life for their children. He enjoys
reading domestic and international materials, be it books
or journal articles.