Polio victims urge banks to be more disabled-friendly

Polio victim Mohamed Shaffuan Al Farouqi Md Ali has never had an easy day when it comes to a trip to the banks.He had to rely on others to carry out his banking transaction as the facilities were not disabled-friendly.

Betrayed: Shaffuan showing the police report which he lodged after discovering that his best friend withdrew RM5,000 using his ATM card at a press conference held by the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor and Federal Territory in Petaling Jaya.

The 24-year-old IT analyst from Wangsa Maju used to depend on his friend of 10 years for that purpose but he had a rude shock when the man withdrew RM5,000 from his bank account without his permission.

“ I only realised my ATM card was missing after one week of the transaction. I quickly made a police report and the officers checked the bank’s CCTV only to find out that it was made by my best friend,” said Shaffuan.

He later confronted his friend’s family but found out that the money was used to pay the down payment for his friend’s motorcycle.

“However I did not take any action against him since his family members paid me the money back. This would not have happened if we could carry out our transactions independently,” he added.

Shaffuan, a member of Damai Disabled Persons Association, urges all banks to provide a friendly access for the disabled.

“This problem has not only affected Shaffuan, but also many members of our association,” said the association’s president, V. Murugeswaran.

“We hope the banks will provide separate counters and also a lower ATM machines so we can use the services easily and in privacy,” he added.

The association will be sending a letter to Bank Negara regarding their plight.