KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — The Malaysian Association of Borrowers and Consumers Solution (4PM) has reportedly claimed that Individuals are facing enormous pressures from the rising costs of living and repaying debts.
Its president Rosland Mohd Arif told Utusan Malaysia that his group had allegedly received complaints from those who contemplated suicide due to the issues, and 60 requests for help due to their financial woes lately.
He explained that his complainants are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic but their situation is now worsened by the rising costs of living and the pressure from the banks to repay their debts.
“Too many people have been affected since the last two years and the others don’t know that we receive calls every day,” he reportedly said, describing the calls contained suicidal thoughts.
He recounted a case where a mother complained of pressure because her house is about to be auctioned, and she is taking care of her father and her husband who cannot work due to illness, in addition to having two children who need to be supported.
He added that whenever they received complaints that expressed the idea of suicide, they would try to placate the individuals and advise them that killing themselves would not solve the issue.
“We are grateful that the callers’ suicidal ideas were successfully prevented through the advisory services and help given by us,” he said.
He added that the expected raising of the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) and increased costs of living next year would inevitably add more financial pressure on the less privileged.
He then urged the government to take immediate action to ease people’s burden and ensure the situation is under control.
* If you are lonely, distressed, or having negative thoughts, Befrienders offers free and confidential support 24 hours a day. A full list of Befrienders contact numbers and state operating hours is available here: www.befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia. There are also free hotlines for young people. Talian Kasih at 15999 (24/7); and Talian BuddyBear at 1800-18-2327(BEAR)(daily 12pm-12am).
