Sabah registers a higher loan repayment rate
Published on: Saturday, December 06, 2014
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has won credit for registering a higher rate of loan repayment than other states in the country.In making this acknowledgment, Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) Chairman Dato' Mohd Hanifa Sher Mohamed said of the 300,000 borrowers nationwide who have approached AKPK for assistance, Sabah borrowers accounted for only a small figure.Nevertheless, he said this does not mean there are no borrowers in the State who are totally free from problems in settling their loans.
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"But generally, Sabah borrowers are good (in repaying their loans)," he said in a press conference after a briefing by AKPK at Wisma Muis, here, Friday.He said AKPK is still committed to educating or raising awareness about the existence of the organisation and also on good financial management practices in industry.Generally, 80 per cent of those saddled with debts and facing difficulty in settling them are from the private sector.And the most common debts incurred by these people are from credit cards.
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However, there are also borrowers who could not settle their housing, car and personal loans, among others.In some cases, they took out loans for their children's wedding and also to participate in get-rich-quick schemes.
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And this is where AKPK's role comes in, said Mohd Hanifa.According to him, AKPK will assist the borrowers to restructure their loans so that they are not too burdened in servicing the monthly payments."There are cases where some actually borrowed from five banks. So, we assist them to restructure the repayment schedule and while doing so, we will look at their cash flow also."We want them to be able to repay the loans and at the same to time to have cash on their hands for their daily use," he said.He said borrowers should immediately seek help once they start having problems running their personal finances.In fact, he said, they could also approach the AKPK for counselling before taking out loans."And never borrow from Ah Longs. Always deal with valid financial institutions," he said.Just for the record, Mohd Hanifa said, the AKPK is a non-profit entity, which means that the services they offer are all free of charge.He said it was formed in 2006 by Bank Negara with the primary objective of ensuring the household sector continues to be resilient where individual borrowers facing problems in settling their loans could, through the AKPK, obtain advice and aid relating to financial and credit management.In this regard, he urged members of the public to visit the office of AKPK.He said the organisation received several complaints that individuals who claimed that they are AKPK agents have approached members of the public.These so-called agents, he said, asked for payment, purportedly as processing fee to enable the borrowers get into the AKPK credit-restructuring programme.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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