ALOR STAR: The three-day financial carnival organised by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) here since yesterday has become a one-stop edutainment centre providing financial information and access to various financial products to visitors.
BNM LINK and Regional Offices (BNMLINK) director Arlina Ariff said it was important for the central bank to protect consumers to ensure that they were treated fairly by the industry.
“This carnival is a platform to raise awareness among the people on how they can manage their credit and learn about their rights as financial consumers,” she told reporters here today.
Arlina said the carnival could also help enhance financial literacy among the public in line with BNM’s functions and BNMLINK’s role as one of central bank’s important point of contacts.
She said BNMLINK acts as a BNM’s centralised point of contact to facilitate a rapid and effective response for the public and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in matters related to the financial sector.
BNMLINK also provides face-to-face customer service to walk-in visitors on general enquiries and public complaints, she said, adding that its personnel were ready to assist and address matters related to banking, insurance, SME financing and currency.
“Normally, on average, we get around 1,000 enquiries either on complaints or people wanting to know about BNM policies,” she said.
There are six BNMLINK offices nationwide, namely in Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, and Johor.
As at today, almost 10,000 people visited the carnival, with at least 1,000 dropping by at the BNM booth.
More than 40 financial service providers, associations and agencies participated in the fourth financial carnival. The first was held in Kuala Lumpur last year.
The carnival arrayed various activities, including financial advisory services, briefings by Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation on its e-Usahawan and e-Rezeki programmes, financial education, a children’s corner, and a lucky draw.
Among the exhibitors are local financial institutions such as Agrobank, AIA, Bank Islam, Bank Rakyat, CIMB Bank, Maybank, Affin Bank, Bank SimpananNasional, and the Employees Provident Fund. — BERNAMA