KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has supported Nur Balqis Zharah, a young girl who was born without her left hand, by providing her a prosthetic arm through its Hari Raya initiative, Projek Salam.
Maybank’s executive vice president and head of group brand and marketing, Shazlina Mohd Suffian, said in a statement that the move was in line with how the bank approaches technology — “not just as a tool, but as a force for good”.
An accompanying video shows that the prosthetic arm uses Balqis’ muscles to mimic natural hand movements, enabling her to perform everyday tasks, including a two-handed salam greeting to her parents, military serviceman Fauzi Fazil and homemaker Suraya.
The prosthetic was developed in collaboration with University of Malaya (UM) by a team consisting of its engineering faculty’s dean, Associate Professor Ir Nasrul Anuar Abd Razak, researcher Mohd Tajularif Ibrahim, and several biomedical engineering students.
To assist Balqis in adapting to the prosthetic, she underwent rehabilitation and muscle memory training under Dr Chern Phei Ming, head of the Paediatric Rehabilitation Unit at Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital (HRC).
“Projek Salam reflects our commitment to inclusive and human-centred innovation,” said Shazlina.
Maybank highlighted this initiative through a web film directed by Barney Chua and produced by Mojo Fi.