Online system for unclaimed money coming next year

MALAYSIANS will no longer need to queue to check the status of unclaimed money once the Government rolls out its electronic unclaimed money information system.

According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz, the system is expected to be activated in the second quarter of next year.

“The system will enable the people to access and check the status of their unclaimed money online.

“The Accountant-General’s Department, which manages unclaimed money, will also join the Mobile CTC (community transformation centre) programme organised by the Finance Ministry to allow more people, especially those in rural areas, to check and claim what is theirs,” he said to a question from Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Zahari (BN-Setiawangsa) in Parliament yesterday.

The Government is the custodian of a whopping RM5.96bil in unclaimed money as of Oct 31.

Othman said based on department records, the unclaimed money was split into three categories.

“A total of 70% is from banking transactions, which includes money kept in savings and current accounts, as well as fixed depo­sits.

“Another 18% is from insurance accounts and the balance 12% constitutes other forms of accounts such as trade accounts,” he added.

This year alone, Othman said, the department had received 50,015 applications.

Of these, 34,353 applications were from around Kuala Lumpur.