Supporting Braille systems

JAN 4 was declared annual World Braille Day by the United Nations not only to appreciate the contributions of the man who invented the Braille system of reading for the blind, Louis Braille, but also to mainstream the relevance of Braille codes in the lives of blind and visually impaired people.

The year 2021 concluded with two pieces of positive news for such people: First, the Malaysian Intellectual Property Organisation, through cooperation with various stakeholders – including organisations of persons with disabilities, particularly the National Council for the Blind, Malaysia (NCBM) – prepared amendments to the Copy-right Act 1987 to introduce several new provisions that will clear the path for Malaysia’s accession to the Marrakesh Treaty. Recently, the House of Representatives approved the amendments.

The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted by the World Blind Union and World Intellectual Property Organisation on June 27, 2013, and came into force on Sept 30, 2016. It enables the production and sharing of information in accessible formats for those who are blind, visually impaired or who have print disabilities without infringing the intellectual property rights of the publishers.

Secondly, the Special Education Division in the Education Ministry adopted Unified English Braille. A circular concerning the adoption of this system has been disseminated to all relevant stakeholders.

However, there are still some issues that the NCBM would like to raise. Regarding the Marrakesh Treaty, the Malaysian government must quickly sign and ratify it. For the record, Asean member states that have signed and ratified it are Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

In addition, the government must introduce a regulation relating to the appointment requirements of an authorised entity as well as the affairs concerning accessible publication. The Education Ministry must also send a circular to all stakeholders regarding the adoption of the Kod Braille Bahasa Melayu Pindaan 2020.

In 2022, the NCBM will continue our advocacy on the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty, accessible books production and competency training in Unified English Braille and Kod Braille Bahasa Melayu Pindaan 2020 for special education teachers.

The NCBM is committed to expanding collaboration with more stakeholders for the betterment of the blind and visually impaired community in particular and the broader disabled community in Malaysia. We will empower these communities to be fully included in the Malaysian Family.

WONG YOON LOONG

Executive director

National Council for the Blind, Malaysia (NCBM)