30/12/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | DEC 30, 2025

23 YOBM supports literacy for blind pupils

T HE saying “reading is the bridge to knowledge” is not only a familiar mantra found in campaigns focused on promoting reading as a culture worldwide, but the saying also underscores the role books play as gateways to learning. Yet, behind these well-meaning efforts lie a group struggling to keep up – children with visual impairment who, due to a chronic shortage of books in Braille, continue to face limited access to quality literature. The absence of such necessary resources is not merely an issue of convenience, but the reflection of a Braille literacy crisis that is growing. Today, visually impaired children rely heavily on audio materials and smartphones, resulting in a steady decline in tactile reading skills – even though Braille remains foundational to their education. Without Braille, opportunities become severely restricted in the realms of sentence structuring, spelling and vocabulary development. While children without visual impairment have a wide range of options to learn letters and basic reading concepts, why are visually impaired pupils not afforded the same right? Silent access gap Data from Malaysian Book Publishers Association recorded more than 240,000 new book titles published over a five-year period (2009-2014). However, none were produced in Unicode Braille (which enables Braille digitisation), consequentially limiting access for persons with visual impairments to gain knowledge through reading. In an interview with Bernama, Hakimi Hassan, founder and trustee of Malaysian Foundation for the Blind (YOBM), said the gap goes beyond a lack of materials, describing the situation as a structural crisis with long-term consequences. “If even books that are newly published are not available in Braille format, how are students supposed to familiarise themselves with the reference materials they should have?” she said, adding that Braille literacy risks declining as attention shifts increasingly toward digital access. YOBM is a NGO registered under the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department. The organisation provides specialised services for persons with visual impairments, including assistive technology, education and welfare support. In the current landscape, blind children are increasingly dependent on video, audio and internet-based resources for learning. While helpful, digital materials cannot replace the tactile function of Braille, which is essential for understanding vocabulary building, spelling and syllable structure. According to Hakimi, over-reliance on audio learning often leaves pupils unable to independently read simple texts such as instructions or lables, o Children’s Braille Dictionary restores right to read

A child’s hands gently glide over the tactile surface of a Braille book, exploring a world of words unseen. – 123RFPIC

their lifespan is relatively short – about six to seven months – before embossed dots begin to flatten, if the book is not carefully maintained. Braille embossing equipment adds yet another layer of complexity. YOBM currently operates only two embosser units imported from Sweden, each involving high purchase, spare parts and maintenance costs. “Honestly, if you add up all the equipment – embossers, ink, printers, Braille paper and spare parts – since we started this project in March 2025, the cost runs into the hundred thousands,” he shared. “If one embosser stops working, our production capacity immediately drops 50%,” he added, noting that these hidden costs form the backbone of the entire publishing operation. Meticulous production Meanwhile, YOBM Publishing Officer and Information Technology trainer Andy Boo Teck Joo said each dictionary set is produced through a combination of manual and digital processes. Although the process is time consuming, even with specialised software and IT tools, Boo said it is unavoidable as every Braille word must be accurate. “Each Braille character is carefully typed using a specialised Braille keyboard. Before converting the text using a text-to-Braille program, I do a quick review. The dictionary pages are then formatted using the Duxbury Braille Translator, where spacing and layout must be adjusted precisely for printing,” he explained. Physical printing remains the greatest challenge, however. “One embosser unit costs RM37,000 and is extremely sensitive. Sheets must be fed one by one for

ensure remains manageable for young children learning tactile reading. This is why a basic A to Z dictionary ultimately became five separate volumes. “In conventional printing, 26 letters should fit into one book. One letter can take several pages, however, in Braille. We had to limit each letter to just eight to 16 examples so pupils are not overwhelmed,” he explained. Printing posed another major hurdle, as most mainstream printing companies do not take on small volume orders in Braille paper. Some even impose 100,000 copies as a minimum requirement. YOBM eventually opted for a more demanding but practical solution – manual production. Each volume is produced using two in-house embosser machines and standard printers. Funded through internal resources and sponsorships, the dictionaries were produced according to pupil needs: B1 (totally blind and fully reliant on Braille), B2 and B3 (severely limited vision requiring a combination of Braille and high-contrast visuals). The dictionaries integrate Braille with high-contrast images to help B2 and B3 pupils form mental representations of objects, strengthen early comprehension and prevent “conceptual blindness” over time. Producing such visuals also comes with high colour ink expenses, a bulk of what makes up the cost. “Only original ink does the job. Cheaper ink damages printers because they are not designed for this,” Hakimi explained, estimating a RM500 printer lasts a while months before needing servicing or having to buy new. He added that Braille dictionaries must be continuously reproduced, as each page

printers. Any mistake affects both text and images,” he said, adding that the entire process is personally supervised. Even with digital upgrades production capacity remains limited, with only 10 sets produced per day. Continuing to evolve Hakimi said YOBM initially began with a bilingual Malay–English adult dictionary combining Braille for both languages. Although its publication was limited by technical and financial constraints, the experience proved invaluable for developing the children’s dictionary. “The adult dictionary project opened our eyes to the vast gap in Braille literacy,” he said. He added that YOBM’s understanding of special education pedagogy is also deepened by the experience. Teachers emphasised children require simple, illustrated and consistent basic vocabulary. “Children’s content cannot simply be adapted from adult versions. Children’s content must be carefully restructured. Our research and development involved collaboration with special education teachers, university lecturers and the Ministry of Education, as well as studies of mainstream children’s book formats adapted for blind learners,” he said. Looking ahead, YOBM aims to produce more modern, multilingual dictionaries and develop a digital library equipped with text-to-speech features, audiobooks and additional learning modules. “We want Braille literacy to be more than a privillege,” he said, outlining the foundation’s vision of building an inclusive learning ecosystem and a more independent future for visually impaired generations. – Bernama

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performance and autonomy. “In special education schools, teachers try to fill this gap with their own creativity. But without consistent basic materials, learning often starts from zero. That is why a basic dictionary is the most crucial starting point,” he stressed. That gap is now being addressed by YBOM through the Illustrated Malay-English Braille Dictionary for Children initiative, the first of its kind produced in the country since March last year. More than 230 volumes of the dictionary have been distributed to three special education schools (SK Klang, SKPK Jalan Batu and SMKPK Setapak), with plans to expand distribution to 35 special education schools nationwide by next year. “For students, a bilingual dictionary is a fundamental necessity. No bilingual dictionary has been provided by the Ministry of Education or schools, to date – even for mainstream pupils. The difference is that students without visual impairment can still buy one from bookstores. Visually impaired students, however, have no specialised bilingual dictionary available in the market,” he said. Technical challenges Designed to function like a child-friendly mini encyclopaedia – with alphabets paired with images – producing the dictionary requires far greater technical precision than standard books. A single Braille character occupies nearly four times the space of a printed letter. As a result, A 10-page textbook can expand to 40 pages when converted into Braille. Hakimi said the team had to reduce the number of word examples, compress content and remove non-essential graphics to