KUALA LUMPUR: Only nine Malaysians under 30 were declared bankrupt between January and September this year, a decline from the figures of the past three years.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz (pic) said this was an improvement compared with 12 people from the same age group in 2014, 17 in 2015 and 22 last year.
"One of the main reasons for bankruptcy among youth is credit card debt, as many tend to spend beyond their means.
"Between 2014 and 2016, an average of 1.1% of youth declared bankruptcy due to credit card debt, and a majority of them were below 30 years old," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Sapawi Ahmad Wasali (BN-Sipitang) in Parliament on Monday.
On household debt-to-gross domestic product (debt-to-GDP), Othman said the percentage had been decreasing over the past three years, from 89% in 2015 to 88.3% last year, and 85.6% as of the third quarter this year.
"We understand that in our efforts to control debt rate, we must also balance the needs of the rakyat against those of our financial institutions.
"Certain debts like those for the creation of wealth, such as buying assets like a house, we encourage those because once that debt is resolved they can own an asset which will increase in value in future," he said.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz (pic) said this was an improvement compared with 12 people from the same age group in 2014, 17 in 2015 and 22 last year.
"One of the main reasons for bankruptcy among youth is credit card debt, as many tend to spend beyond their means.
"Between 2014 and 2016, an average of 1.1% of youth declared bankruptcy due to credit card debt, and a majority of them were below 30 years old," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Sapawi Ahmad Wasali (BN-Sipitang) in Parliament on Monday.
On household debt-to-gross domestic product (debt-to-GDP), Othman said the percentage had been decreasing over the past three years, from 89% in 2015 to 88.3% last year, and 85.6% as of the third quarter this year.
"We understand that in our efforts to control debt rate, we must also balance the needs of the rakyat against those of our financial institutions.
"Certain debts like those for the creation of wealth, such as buying assets like a house, we encourage those because once that debt is resolved they can own an asset which will increase in value in future," he said.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Play, subscribe and stand a chance to win prizes worth over RM39,000! T&C applies.
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
