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Saving awareness still lacking
Posted on Nov 1, 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: Head of the Financial Education Department of the Credit Counselling and Management Agency (AKPK), Nor Akmar Yaakub, said based on AKPK's 2018 Financial Behavior Survey (AFBes'18), the level of financial well-being among adults working in the country was still at a low level.
"Three out of 10 working people having to borrow just to buy their basic necessities. Those who are earning below RM2,000 faced the biggest challenge to save. "The survey also found that those who were more serious in planning their expenses were those between the ages of 50 and 59, and those who with higher incomes were found to have less planning. Women were found more likely to plan and track their expenses," she said.
Nur Akmar said an online study in March by the Department of Statistics Malaysia to assess the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and individuals found that 71.4 per cent of those self-employed have savings that can last for a month, while 82.7 per cent of those in the private sector had sufficient financial savings for the period of two months.
"In general, Malaysians do not have enough emergency savings in the event of long-term unexpected events," she added.According to Nur Akmar, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit home the importance of having savings during times of emergencies.
The AKPK Post-Moratorium Survey in August showed that 29 per cent of respondents used the moratorium money for savings purposes and this was supported by an increase in the percentage of savings and deposits in Tabung Haji, the National Education Savings Scheme (SSPN), and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).
"This shows that people have begun to show awareness of the importance of savings, especially in times of crisis. Awareness to change is the first step in financial planning," she said.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Senior Professor of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Prof Datuk Dr Shazali Abu Mansor, said that most Malaysians do not have enough savings to deal with emergencies, especially when the pandemic struck, thus forcing them to rely on government assistance and subsidies.
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