Better understanding: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia special needs student Khoo Song Win holding a copy of the dictionary during its launch in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s first-ever bilingual Braille dictionary will be distributed for free to special education schools, universities, training centres and the visually-impaired nationwide starting next month.
Trustee of the Malaysian Foundation for the Blind (MFB) Silatul Rahim Dahman said the development of the bilingual lexicon, which began in 2021, was fully completed last year with an allocation of about RM500,000.
“Based on preliminary plans, a total of 1,000 dictionaries will be distributed, besides being promoted at the regional level, including in Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and southern Thailand, if there is a demand.
“I’m confident there is a demand because there is no such dictionary in the Braille format in this region.
“This dictionary contains about 20,000 words translated from English to Bahasa Melayu and published in nine volumes by Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM),” he told reporters after the launch of the dictionary by Yayasan PETRONAS Corporate Planning and Services head Khairunnisa Ghazali here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Silatul Rahim said a panel of 15 specialists involved in producing the dictionary comprised officers from the Education Ministry, teachers from special education schools and educators from the teacher training institutes.
Silatul Rahim, who is also president of the International Council for Special Education in the East Asia Region, said phase two of the development of the dictionary, which contains 50,000 words, is expected to begin next year and would take one year to complete.
Meanwhile, the head of the Bilingual Braille Dictionary Development Project, Dr Mohd Norazmi Nordin, hopes that the dictionary will serve not only as a translation tool but also as a catalyst for the mastery of both languages (English and Bahasa Melayu) among Braille users.
Mohd Norazmi stated that this effort marks the beginning of more inclusive initiatives aimed at supporting learning sessions for individuals with disabilities.
