PETALING JAYA: More needs to be done to improve the financial literacy of Malaysian youth, say experts.
Malaysia Literacy in Financial Education Association founding chairman Amy Seok said more emphasis should be placed on teaching financial literacy from a young age.
She said most students would not be able to remember what they read about financial management when the topic is the last chapter of a mathematics textbook, and the chapter was so different from the rest of syllabus.
“Its effectiveness is clearly lacking as less than one-tenth of youth I have dealt with, who studied the financial management chapter in school, understand what financial literacy is.
“We need to take urgent action to educate the future leaders of our nation on how to be financially savvy, especially as many young people are facing extreme financial stress due to the high rate of inflation and the rising cost of living now,” she said in an interview.
Universiti Malaya (UM) economics and social protection expert Datuk Emeritus Prof Dr Norma Mansor said recent trends had made it too easy for youth to spend more than their means and eventually go into debt.
“There is a significant generational gap since most youth today have not had as challenging a standard of living as their parents, causing them to disregard the need for financial management skills.
“Add to this the recent increasing ease of spending money on online shopping platforms, with even the option to essentially pay through small loans, and thousands of future youth could find themselves either constantly broke or in heavy debt,” she said.
She suggested that payment restrictions be placed to prevent youth from overspending.
Prof Norma, who is also UM’s Social Wellbeing Research Centre director, added that ensuring financial literacy among youth would be key to ensuring the future of both the youngsters themselves and the country as a whole.
“Outside of managing their money, financial literacy will also teach them how to discipline themselves in their spending, which could carry over to other aspects of their lives.
“This discipline will hopefully help prevent them from falling into negative habits like smoking and gambling.
“The financial freedom they get from good financial management will also help boost their confidence and dignity, which are vital for creating strong future leaders,” she said.
