Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) continues collaborating with the Malaysian Association of the Blind (MAB) to roll out financial education initiative for people with vision disabilities in August.
The initiative supports greater inclusivity and access to financial education for people with vision disabilities in Malaysia, who have more difficulty accessing such materials compared to abled persons.
“As a government authority responsible for protecting the people’s hard-earned money in our member banks, we recognise that depositors live in different circumstances, including vision disability,” said PIDM executive vice president Wan Ahmad Ikram Wan Ahmd Lotfi.
“People with vision disabilities are equally important members of the overall financial ecosystem and must be empowered with the necessary knowledge to improve their financial health and resilience.”
PIDM supports greater inclusivity and access to financial education for people with vision disabilities in Malaysia.
Wan Ahmad Ikram added that PIDM has also taken steps to ensure that information about deposit insurance could be made more accessible for the blind.
PIDM’s website was revamped earlier this year to include accessibility features to accommodate people with vision disabilities.
“We are honoured to collaborate with PIDM to bring financial literacy to people with vision disabilities,” said MAB chief executive officer George Thomas.
“It is MAB’s vision for people with vision disabilities to be equipped with knowledge that can help them to manage their finances and livelihoods.”
The financial literacy modules are provided as part of the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia training at MAB and will be available in Braille and audio CD format.
The modules cover financial planning, budgeting, debt management, banking, and insurance products and incorporate information on PIDM’s protection systems and financial scams.
The CDs will be distributed to MAB students and members, as well as schools and libraries with integrated facilities for the blind. Members of the blind community who are not registered with MAB may also request to receive a CD copy from MAB.
PIDM has been supporting people with vision disabilities through MAB since 2020, which kicked off with PIDM contributing 1,000 stay-safe kits to MAB to distribute to the blind and help them stay safe during the pandemic.
The financial literacy modules are part of MAB’s Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia training.
Last year, PIDM sponsored ten units of the Perkins Brailler mechanical braille writer for blind students pursuing literacy and communications classes, supporting 2,000 packed meals for vaccination recipients and frontliners and 170 food baskets for families of people with vision disabilities.
PIDM is also running its second #SediaPayungKewangan financial resilience campaign from now until Sept 30.
Public members are invited to participate in the campaign’s digital and on-ground activations to learn how they can improve their financial resilience.
The campaign microsite is at www.pidm.gov.my/SPK.
