Isnin, 6 Julai 2020 | 5:49pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Hasil mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Dasar Monetari (MPC) Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) esok akan diperhatikan dengan penuh minat untuk mendapatkan penilaian terkini mengenai kedudukan ekonomi negara.

Reaksi berbeza diterima daripada ahli ekonomi berhubung keputusan sama ada untuk mengekal atau menurunkan kadar dasar semalaman (OPR), yang menjadi penanda aras kadar faedah pinjaman, ke paras terendah dalam sejarah.

Ketua Ahli Ekonomi Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, berkata beliau berpendapat OPR bakal dikekalkan pada kadar 2.0 peratus.

Katanya, tanda pemulihan ekonomi mula kelihatan seperti peningkatan jualan kenderaan kepada 22,960 unit pada Mei lalu berbanding 141 unit pada April, yang mana angka itu adalah paras terendah dalam sejarah.

"Selain itu, sentimen perniagaan yang ditunjukkan oleh Indeks Pengurus Pembelian (PMI) bagi bulan Jun sudah pun melepasi paras 50 mata. Ini bermakna, peniaga berasa optimistik setelah kegiatan ekonomi beransur-ansur dibuka pada awal Mei lalu.

Isnin, 6 Julai 2020 | 1:00pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Pelbagai aksesori kenderaan yang menjadi kegilaan pemandu kini, hanya kerana mudah dipasang dan kelihatan cantik, tanpa menyedari ia berisiko mencetuskan kemalangan dan meragut nyawa sendiri.

Permintaan tinggi menyaksikan, aksesori kenderaan sama ada yang mematuhi undang-undang atau sebaliknya, dijual secara meluas dalam pasaran termasuk di kedai serbaneka dan dalam talian.

Antara aksesori dikenal pasti berbahaya oleh Institut Penyelidikan Keselamatan Jalan Raya Malaysia (MIROS) ialah 'dummy buckle' atau alat nyah aktif penggera tali keledar, kerusi keselamatan kanak-kanak (CRS) mudah alih, lapisan cermin gelap pekat dan penggunaan lampu utama serta belakang yang diubah suai.

Ketua Pengarah MIROS, Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim, berkata 'trend' terbaharu dikesan pihaknya dalam kalangan pemandu kenderaan adalah penggunaan aksesori nyah aktif penggera tali keledar yang boleh didapati pada harga serendah RM2 di kedai serbaneka atau portal beli-belah dalam talian.

Mereka menggunakan aksesori ini untuk untuk menghentikan sistem bunyi peringatan daripada mengenakan tali keledar di dalam kereta.

Sunday, 05 Jul 2020 l 4:00 PM MYT
KOTA BARU (Bernama): The Environment and Water Ministry will seek a RM7bil allocation under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) from the Federal Government to resolve water issues in Kelantan holistically.

Its minister, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said this involved three major areas, namely, flood mitigation including the construction of four new dams; replacement of water pipes which are more than 40 years old to reduce non-revenue water; as well as upgrading plants and integrated sewage projects.

"The decision was made after taking into consideration the increasing population and to settle water supply problems in Kelantan for the next 30 to 40 years.

"By 2030, we are confident 95% of the water supply problems in the state will be resolved, ” he said after a meeting with Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob at Kota Darul Naim Complex here Sunday (July 5).

Also present were the state Public Works, Infrastructure, Transportation and Utilities Committee chairman Datuk Azami Mohd Nor and Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang.

July 5, 2020 8:00 AM

PETALING JAYA: An economist has stated his support for an extension to the six-month moratorium on bank loans, calling on banking institutions to see “the bigger picture” although they might suffer for a while.

Carmelo Ferlito, senior fellow of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, said helping businesses and households under financial stress to get back on track would pay off in the long run.

The extension of the moratorium might be the best way to prevent customers from defaulting on loans, as banks would lose their credit rating if customers default.

“A moratorium extension could be the best way for the banks to ensure future cash flow; a delay is better than a deletion. In the short run, the extension may create troubles for banks, sure. But it could be the way to grant that profitability comes back in the near future,” he told FMT.

July 4, 2020 @ 2:11pm

KUALA LUMPUR: Banks must be compelled to extend their Covid-19 loan moratorium for Malaysian consumers and businesses by six months, as failure to do so will see a record number of forfeitures.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general J. Solomon said the government and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) must implement the extension, as many are unable to service their loans under current conditions.

He said this includes the 800,000 workers who lost their jobs in April, and the thousands more who were forced to go on unpaid leave or take pay cuts.

"There should not be any doubt on the part of the government, especially the Finance Ministry and BNM, that a large slice of the workforce is far from ready to resume servicing their car and housing loans.

Saturday, 04 Jul 2020 11:10 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to ask banks to consider extending the moratorium on loan repayments by at least another six months.

In a statement today, MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said this was needed especially for targeted groups who are still unable to service loans such as for housing and vehicles.

“For banks to adopt a ‘business as usual’ attitude and expect workers who are still mired in job losses and with little or no income, to resume paying their loans, is a downright  cruel and inhumane act against the borrowers,” he  said referring to many of the 800,000 workers who lost their jobs up until April this year while thousands more were forced to take deep pay cuts or go on unpaid leave.

Citing official statistics, Solomon said it clearly showed that many workers have been rendered unemployed due to the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

July 3, 2020 8:54 PM

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has no intention to extend the six-month moratorium for loans, which will end on Sept 30, even as Putrajaya engages with banks to do so.

The central bank’s assistant governor Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid said as of June 19, the moratorium had cost financial institutions some RM47.5 billion since it came into effect on April 1.

Of the sum, RM16.6 billion had benefited the business sector, while the remaining RM30.9 billion was for the public.

“The economy is recovering and we have no intention of extending the moratorium as it would have repercussions that we want to avoid.

“The banking sector finances several economic activities and we are at a crossroads as there are sectors which are still facing challenges,” he said, during a discussion with the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) CEO Azaddin Ngah Tasir.

Julai 03, 2020 07:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Sebanyak 88 peratus atau 2,342 daripada 2,661 responden undian dalam talian yang dijalankan oleh Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) memilih untuk mengambil moratorium atau penangguhan bayaran balik kewangan yang diperkenalkan oleh Bank Negara.

Ketua Unit Pembangunan Modul Jabatan Pendidikan Kewangan AKPK Nirmala Supramaniam berkata daripada jumlah yang memilih moratorium itu, 48 peratus atau 1,124 responden mahu mewujudkan simpanan waktu kecemasan.

"Ada juga yang mengambil moratorium ini untuk menggunakan duit tersebut membeli keperluan harian 21 peratus (491), pelaburan 16 peratus (375), membuat pinjaman yang lebih rendah 11 peratus (258) dan empat peratus (94) tiada perancangan.

"Bagaimanapun undian ini tidak mengambarkan keseluruhan situasi sebenar kerana ia hanya undian secara rawak yang dilakukan dalam talian melalui Faceboook AKPK dan microsite AKPK, #askAKP dari April hingga Mei lepas," katanya kepada Bernama selepas menjadi tetamu program Ruang Bicara, terbitan Bernama TV, malam tadi.
Dalam pada itu, Nirmala berkata kajian AKPK turut mendapati tahap tekanan kewangan meningkat sebanyak 35 peratus dalam kalangan golongan yang bekerja dalam tempoh Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) baru-baru ini.

PropertyGuru picks Text100 to be agency of record in Singapore ...26 June 2020
Depending on whether you had some sort of preparation for the possibility of suddenly losing your job, there are two possible outcomes you can expect. Read on to find out more!
The idea of losing your job is already a scary enough thought if you’re single and living on your own. Imagine the terror that person will have if they have a family to support AND a home loan to pay off!

The decision to purchase a property is a serious financial commitment that isn’t to be taken lightly. It’ll tie you to regular monthly payments for the next 30 years or more, so if your source of income is suddenly taken away, you’re in for a rough ride.

With the COVID-19 pandemic having a severe impact on the global economy, and countless businesses shutting down or scaling back on staff, the prediction that more than 2 million Malaysians would be jobless in 2020 is a very serious matter.

Now, what will happen to your home loan and more importantly, the dream property that you’ve been saving up for, if you end up unemployed? We’re going to be taking a look at both the good and the bad news, so read on to find out.

 

The Good News
First up, don’t immediately panic. Under normal circumstances, you should be able to approach your lender in order to work out a plan to still keep your home.

You’d have to do that as soon as possible though, so that you and your lender can enter discussions for a loan modification, and you can get started on the new plan right away.

Thursday, 02 Jul 2020 l 8:39 PM MYT
PETALING JAYA: The government has agreed to extend the discount period for electricity bills of domestic users across the country for a further three months to Dec 31.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said as a responsible government that is sensitive to the needs of the people, it has agreed to extend the discount until Dec 31 for all domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

"With this decision, a total of 7.66 million domestic users in the peninsula will continue to enjoy the electric bill discount between 2% and 5% from Oct 1 until Dec 31 as an extension announced by the Prime Minister on March 27 under the government's economic stimulus," he said in a statement on Thursday (July 2).

On June 20, the government announced the Bantuan Prihatin Elektrik (BPE) as an additional aid in the form of free electricity of up to RM231 for the three months during the movement control order (MCO) from April until end of June.

Shamsul Anuar said that the extension also applies for electric users between 601 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and 900kWh, who are enjoying a 10% discount under BPE.

"Sabah and Sarawak domestic users will also continue to receive a discount of 2% until Dec 31, which will benefit about 520,000 users in Sabah and 580,000 users in Sarawak.