The government will review the country’s bankruptcy threshold in light of the rise in bankruptcy cases, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He also expressed his concern over the spike in the number of youths being declared bankrupt as of this year. He added Putrajaya may reintroduce its previous method in helping the younger generation.
With this, he is referring to the government’s move in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI) increased the bankruptcy threshold to RM100,000 from RM50,000.
“The government previously increased the threshold during the pandemic and legal actions (against defaulters) were delayed.”
“Looking at how things are now, the threshold will be reviewed and God willing I will discuss this with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) to look into the relevant Act.”
“I will also meet the Bank Negara Governor to see what can be done from the legal perspective,” he said.
In May this year, the MDI reported that 287,411 people in the country have been declared bankrupt as of March this year.
The report also said that most of them were forced to declare bankruptcy for failing to clear loan debts due to insufficient funds. Unfortunately, most of them are young individuals who are still working.
Meanwhile, Selangor recorded the highest number of bankruptcy, followed by Kuala Lumpur with a number of 71,659 and 45,630 reported respectively.
Their statistics showed that workers from the private sector and businessmen are the group of people with the most bankruptcy reported. They are aged between 35 and 44 years old.
At the same time, Ismail Sabri also urged employers and companies to create more job opportunities, especially for the younger generation, to prevent them from becoming a victim of bankruptcy.
“I am worried when I look at the figure and I am even more afraid of the possibility that it can increase, which is why this government will do its best to serve the youth. Believe me, the youth agenda is our priority.” he said.
