Despite amendments on the insolvency law last year, there was still an alarming number of bankrupt Malaysians.
Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim said more than 300,958 Malaysians were declared as bankrupt, where more than 60% were aged between 35 and 54.
He revealed from 2013 until 2017, there was a total of 100,610 bankrupt Malaysians while 14% had already been discharged.
Razali said efforts were ongoing to reduce the number of bankrupt individuals and advised Malaysians not to fear the Insolvency Department or the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency.
“We want Malaysians to continue to actively contribute to the country and not become bankrupt. High bankruptcy in a country can affect its productivity.
“The amendments to the law can help people be more responsible in managing their finances and at the same time financial institutions can also be more responsible in approving loans,” he said.
Meanwhile, the highest number of discharged bankrupts were 4,189 people in Selangor followed by Johor with 2,278 people, while the Federal Territory and Penang had 1,665 and 1,002 respectively.
Other statistics included Sarawak with 961 discharged bankrupts, Perak (895), Sabah (737), Kedah (550), Pahang (468), Negri Sembilan (423), Kelantan (342), Malacca (291), Terengganu (253) and Perlis (54).
The housing loan application rejection rate has declined to below average, according to the Bank Negara’s (BNM) Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report 2017.
The report, which outlines the risks and challenges faced by the country financially, revealed the rejection rate was at 23.1% last year, which is equivalent to a quarter of all cases and below the 26.1% average recorded from 2012 until 2016.
The improvement of the rates was attributed to the positive alignment between bank lending standards and borrowing behavior according to the Policy Document on Responsible Financing.
Lower margins of finance were also given towards higher priced units, while its collateral value were closely monitored.
Despite the soft property market, banks have been approving home financing requests made by first-time homebuyers as they made up 71% of total housing loan provided by the banks.
Nevertheless, banks continue to exercise caution towards funding property purchases in less favourable locations or those of financially weak developers.
Among the reasons that led to the rejection of housings were lack of income to support the debt repayment, credit history and insufficient financial documentation.
Meanwhile, speculative activities in the residential market continue to be subdued, while the amount of borrowers with at least three outstanding housing loans grew by 0.9% last year, compared to 1.2% in 2016 and 15.8% in 2010 – this translated to about 3% of total housing loan borrowers.
However, the amount of housing loans paid off within the last three years reduced to 9.7% last year compared to 11.8% in 2016.
The government has revealed there is a possibility that the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M), which is meant for the urban poor, could be increased due to the higher cost of living.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Othman Aziz had said the costs of living in urban areas has spiked, and they were contemplating on a slight increase for the cash handout.
He was responding to a question posed in Parliament regarding the disparity between those receiving BR1M in rural versus urban areas.
“The cost of living in the city is higher. So, we may look at increasing slightly the aid for the urban poor in the long term,” he said.
Previously, he revealed a total of RM25.62billion had been dispensed from 2012 until last year, while an estimated RM6.8billion is set to be given out to 7.2 million eligible applicants this year.
Othman added that since the launch, a total of RM32.42nillion had been allocated by the government towards BR1M.
The handout is currently RM900 for those with a household income between RM3,002 and RM4,000.
sumber:https://www.imoney.my/articles/insolvency-law-bankrupt
https://www.imoney.my/articles/bnm-housing-rejection-rate
https://www.imoney.my/articles/br1m-government-parliament
