The consumer education efforts are also complemented by initiatives to promote a higher level of disclosure and transparency so as to ensure that consumers have access to relevant, comparable and timely information on products and services. A significant focus has been on the insurance sector, given that a significant segment of the Malaysian consumers do not have good understanding of insurance products. In particular, guidelines on medical and health insurance and the requirements for marketing of life insurance policies, have been strengthened while rules for independent financial advisers have been introduced. In meeting socio-economic objectives, there is also a need to ensure that the welfare and interests of all segments of society are protected and that no target group is excluded or marginalised. Indeed, an important component of our consumer protection framework is to ensure that all consumers continue to have access to basic banking services at reasonable costs. In this connection, a more interventionist approach has been pursued to require banking institutions to offer a list of basic banking services to all Malaysians and to set guiding principles for the imposition of fees and charges for these retail products and services for individuals and small and medium sized enterprises. Efforts have also been taken by the Central Bank in collaboration with the financial services industry to enhance the integrity of the payments systems and instruments, aimed at promoting confidence and ensuring that consumers' interests are safeguarded.

In the area of strengthening the consumer protection infrastructure, the agenda covers a wide spectrum of initiatives involving infrastructure and institutional capacity development that includes financial education, advisory services, distress management, rehabilitation and putting in place avenues for redress. Recent initiatives include evolving a more effective Financial Mediation Bureau (FMB) to ensure that consumers of all financial service providers under the purview of the Central Bank have recourse to an independent, fair and impartial dispute resolution mechanism. Earlier this year a deposit insurance scheme was introduced to further strengthen incentives for financial institutions to adopt sound financial and business practices and enhance public confidence in the financial system by providing explicit protection on deposits. Bank Negara Malaysia is also currently finalising the details for the establishment of a credit counselling and debt management agency to be introduced early next year, with the aim of providing individuals with credit counselling and assistance in restructuring of their debts. To promote financial education at an early age, Bank Negara Malaysia embarked on an education programme in schools on basic financial knowledge in partnership with the Education Ministry since 1997. Further, in collaboration with the financial industry's associations, Bank Negara Malaysia launched a ten year Consumer Education Programme (CEP) for the banking and insurance sectors. We are now in the fifth year of this programme. Extensive information is being disseminated via the spectrum of distribution channels including newspapers, radio, websites, branches of financial institutions and outreach programmes.