By Patrick Lee
FRI, 08 OCT 2010 15:25
PETALING JAYA: Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) has promised to make most of its branches disabled-friendly.
“We have received the same feedback from our customers on the same matter and are in the midst of providing (wheelchair) ramps,” said a BSN spokesperson.The bank also told FMT that its staff would provide help to its
disabled customers whenever necessary.At the BSN Kepong Baru branch last week, FMT noticed how a group of disabled people were made to wait along a busy road to receive their social welfare payments.With no wheelchair ramp, the disabled people said sometimes they had to wait for over 30 minutes before being attended to by a bank officer.A number of senior citizens present also had trouble making their way into the bank.Calling itself a “community bank” that was “progressively improving”, the spokesperson said that the bank was in the process of providing access at many of its branches.However, BSN did not mention when it was going to build a wheelchair ramp for its Kepong Baru branch.'
Lame excuse'
President of the Damai Disabled Persons Association,V Murugesan, was not impressed.“It's a lame excuse. They are only trying to calm us down and make us wait. Anybody can say something like that. They have been saying this for umpteen years. Helping the disabled is not a one or two-day issue,” he said.The wheelchair-bound activist said while BSN did not have a listening ear, other banks such as Maybank were more attentive.FMT previously reported that Maybank had embarked on a RM16-million nationwide project to make its branches more disabled-friendly.Murugesan said that 12 Maybank branches, including six in the Klang Valley, had added wheelchair ramps to their outlets.“Not only does Maybank talks to us, but we also go to their branches and test the ramps (for them),” he said.In comparison, Murugesan said BSN had failed to contact Damai or any other disabled association regarding the matter.
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