ACCESSIBILITY TO BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED VISITOR AT THE PROCLAMATION INDEPENDENCE MEMORIAL, MELAKA

Abstract

The Proclamation Independence Memorial is a tourist attraction in Melaka, a must visit place to get information on the events leading up to Malaysia’s Independence Day. The memorabilia and records in the Proclamation of Independence Memorial symbolize the indomitable spirit and courage of local Malays and other ethnic groups of Malaysia (formerly known as Malaya) in their fight for the country’s independence. Accessing Independence Memorial has been difficult for people who are blind and partially sighted, often due to objects being placed in glass cases and no texts or write up braille creating a barrier to access. They do not provide an equivalent experience to that which is available to the sighted audience. As a result the population who is blind and partially sighted has been significantly under served with respects to exhibits and their intellectual content. The main objective of this research is to provide an experience to blind and partially sighted visitor to get information through the braille write up and audio guide provided. To obtain relevant information, interviews were conducted with blind visitor and staffs of The Proclamation Independence Memorial at Banda Hilir Melaka. The respondent highlighted issues related to factors which restricted their accessibility to the Independence Memorial such as no write up braille and audio guided. The respondents agreed that write up braille and audio guide can attract blind partially sighted visitor to Memorial Melaka.