31,140 youth under 35 declared bankrupt since 2014 - Ramkarpal

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 31,140 youth aged 35 and below have been registered as bankrupts from 2014 to May 2023 based on the records of the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI), said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Legal and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh.

Concerned about the situation, the government has implemented several initiatives including bankruptcy discharge for those declared bankrupt for debts below RM50,000 and meeting the conditions from March 1 this year.

"MDI has also amended section 5(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1967 (Act 360) through the Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act A1624) which was gazetted on Oct 22, 2020 and came into effect from Sept 1, 2021.

"The amendment aims to set the minimum debt limit to RM100,000 which indirectly helps to reduce the percentage of bankrupts registered with MDI including youth," he said during a question and answer session at Dewan Negara today.

He said this when replying to a question by Senator Mohd Hasbie Muda who wanted to know the number of bankrupt youth and what are the government's efforts to curb the issue.

Ramkarpal added that the government also introduced provisions regarding automatic discharge in 2017 under Act 360.

He said the provision allows bankrupts to be discharged from bankruptcy within a short period of three years from the date of filing the Statement of Affairs (SOA) with MDI.

"The government has also made improvements to the provision of automatic discharge through the Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2023 which was approved in the Dewan Rakyat on May 24 and the Dewan Negara on June 19," he said.

In addition, the government through Bank Negara Malaysia has introduced the Policy document on Fair Treatment of Financial Consumers to help people who are experiencing serious debt problems.

"Financial institutions need to ensure that borrowers who have difficulty repaying loans are treated fairly and given due consideration," he said.

-- BERNAMA