CIVIL servants can now access formal music lessons or buy professional instruments through a new agreement between a music retailer and a financing provider, making their musical dreams more achievable.
Bentley Music Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bentley Music Group Bhd, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Juara Partners Sdn Bhd, a Syariah-compliant financing service provider registered under Housing and Local Government Ministry.
The agreement offers civil servants Syariah-compliant financing for music classes at Bentley Music Academy in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, or instrument purchases at Bentley Music showrooms in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, George Town in Penang and Johor Baru in Johor.
It aims to make music classes and instrument ownership more affordable for civil servants, through structured and affordable repayment programmes.
The MOU was signed by Bentley Music managing director Datuk Dr Ken Phua and Juara Partners director Datuk Kamari Zaman Juhari at Wisma Bentley Music, Petaling Jaya.
“The agreement will enable music lovers, particularly civil servants, to have access to financing,” said Kamari Zaman.
“That is a key point, as it is not easy to get financing for musical instruments through a bank.”
He added that among civil servants, there were semi- professional musicians who would like to have opportunities to hone their skills and professional performers who needed better instruments, and the MOU provided the means for them.
Phua said Bentley Music offered a wide range of instruments, many at an affordable price point, to cater to Malaysia’s 1.6 million civil servants.
“The amount covered under the financing scheme depends on the product’s price point, the applicant’s salary and other criteria,” said Bentley Music business development director Lewis Hooper.
“When they apply for the financing scheme, we will work with Juara Partners which will personally contact the applicants and go through the financial requirements with them.”
Juara Partners chief operating officer Dalip Singh explained that while the scheme was only for civil servants for now, there were plans to broaden the scheme to retirees and government-linked company staff.
“Although the initial touchpoint would be at Bentley Music’s stores, we are looking at making the whole financing scheme process seamless. As a digitally enabled fintech company, Juara Partners aims to remove access barriers to traditional finance,” he said.
“So, we are looking to expand the boundaries to make the scheme as inclusive as possible.”
Dalip said the financing scheme could cover up to 10 years, with payments from as low as RM50 a month. The amount covered ranges from RM3,000 to RM100,000.
Phua shared that music is a “very good” hobby to have.
“In some cases, music has been known to enhance the spatial IQ of children and complement their self-discipline.
“Learning music also nurtures a person’s attitude towards commitment and a lot of important behavioural structures to build a very strong character,” he noted.
