Malaysia - Shocking reasons why Malaysians are living beyond their means

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - Shopaholics and poor management of personal finances - these best describe a good number of Malaysian consumers.

On average, 41 are declared bankrupt every day, mostly due to credit card debts, while every weekend, about five million throng the 300-odd shopping complexes in the country.

These habits are among the shocking revelations on why Malaysian consumers cannot cope with the rising cost of living.

Fomca discovered that many of those declared bankrupt due to credit card debts were below 40 years old.

"And they do not care about the consequences," said Fomca chief executive officer Datuk Paul Selvaraj.

"Many are facing financial difficulties too early in life," he told the Protect Our Pockets roundtable conference at Menara Star here on Tuesday night.

Selvaraj said Fomca would embark on a financial education push next month with emphasis on teaching the young.

"In one of our surveys, we were shocked that many children did not even know where money came from," he said, adding that most replied "the ATM (automated teller machine).

"And, they do not believe that their parents have to work to earn money," Selvaraj added.

Malaysian Association of Shopping and Highrise Complex Management president H.C. Chan said its statistics showed that one in five Malaysians visited a shopping mall on a weekend. "And the country has about 320 shopping complexes," he pointed out.

The roundtable session is organised by The Star as part of an initiative to highlight key issues faced by Malaysians in the face of the rising cost of living.

Other field experts who form the panel are Malaysian Retailers-Chains Associations secretary-general Valerie Choo, Carrefour marketing communications (Singapore and Malaysia) director Low Ngai Yuen, Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) senior manager

Phillip See, Pemandu director of National Key Result Areas and National Key Economic Areas D. Ravindran and The Star executive editor Datuk Wong Sai Wan.

Low said while some people shopped, claiming it to be therapeutic, "the truth is, it is not necessarily based on need".

Ravindran agreed to suggestions that the Education Ministry should take the lead in teaching financial management in schools, but not as a formal subject.

See said handling personal finances was something the young had to go through themselves to gain experience.

On ensuring income levels were competitive, Wong urged the private sector to take the lead as most of the country's manpower was from this sector.

"We should also re-examine our heavy dependency on foreign labour and consider absorbing our senior citizens back into the workforce," he added.

Some 60% of young consumers were already in debt, Fomca said at a separate function here yesterday.

"And, 72% of young adults have no retirement plans."

"Protect Our Pockets" is an initiative by The Star to highlight key issues faced by Malaysians in relation to the rising cost of living.

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