Over 80,000 Malaysians declared bankrupt since 2015

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 80,625 Malaysians have been declared bankrupt from 2015 until August this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

In a written reply, Datuk Liew Vui Keong (pic) quoting statistics from the Insolvency Department said that the highest number of bankruptcies were recorded in 2016 with a total of 19,588 cases, followed by 18,457 in 2015.

In 2017,18,227 Malaysians declared bankrupt, followed by 16,482 in 2018 and 7,871 until August 2019.

The 25 to 34-year-old and 45 to 64-year-old age group made up 25.3% respectively of the total amount of bankrupt cases.

Men made up the majority of the cases with 69.7% of the total.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, who spoke during the Minister's Question time in Parliament on Thursday (Oct 17), said that youths tend to spend beyond their means because they are influenced by the latest trends.

To address the issue, Liew said the Government was increasing youths' awareness about the risks and effects of being declared bankrupt through education and various programmes organised by the Insolvency Department.

At the same time, Liew said the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) also played a role in spreading awareness.

"Their programmes involved financial planning for all ages, so that the issue of financial planning can be tackled at the pre-bankruptcy stage," he said.

"Prudent and organised financial management will ensure the best financial position. Through this education, youths will spend prudently and be wise in terms of financial management to avoid bankruptcy," he added.