KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 ― The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has called on the government to extend the deferment for loan repayments from six months to at least nine months to ease workers’ financial burden.
In a statement today, its president Datuk Paul Selvaraj said the extension, including for housing loans, could hopefully help them settle their employment issues and earn enough to resume meeting their financial obligations to the banks.
“The movement control order (MCO) has since been extended to 56 days and with no ending of the MCO in sight, workers are losing their jobs and are unable to find new jobs, having their incomes reduced and facing a bleak economic recovery in the future.
“For many families, there would be major financial readjustment, thus the extension would enable the workers to hopefully get back into the job market with their current employers and those who lost their jobs with new employment,” he said.
Paul said the six-month deferment of their bank obligations was useful but certainly not sufficient, especially for families facing the crisis with limited means and not having a clear picture of their employment future.
He said many consumers might even have to dig into their personal savings or make borrowings from informal sources to meet their basic family expenses.
“They would probably be from the low-income and the unskilled...it would be of tremendous pressures to meet their financial obligations.
“At this time, when financial support to many families facing distress is extremely limited or non-existent, the extension is a small way for the government to help these families,” he said. ― Bernama
