MORATORIUM - PENANGGUHAN PEMBAYARAN PINJAMAN SEHINGGA AKHIR TAHUN 2020

Pandemik Covid 19 telah menimbulkan pelbagai masalah kepada setiap rakyat Malaysia sama ada dari sudut sosial mahu pun ekonomi. Ramai yang kehilangan kerja dan sumber pendapatan  mereka.

Kerajaan telah mengambil langkah-langkah yang sewajarnya untuk mengekang penularan wabak  ini. Langkah pertama ialah mengenakan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP). PKP ini telah menyebabkan rakyat menjalani kehidupan yang serba serbi kekurangan. Dengan kehilangan kerja dan tiada pendapatan, kehidupan menjadi lebih perit.

Langkah kedua yang telah diperkenalkan oleh kerajaan adalah membantu rakyat dengan mengumumkan Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi Prihatin Rakyat dan Prihatin Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) Tambahan. Bantuan ini sedikit sebanyak membantu, namun tidak mecukupi. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) telah memperkenalkan moratorium selama 6 bulan ke atas semua pinjaman sewa beli dan pembiayaan Islam berkadar tetap. Pada mulanya pihak bank mengenakan faedah ke atas pinjaman selama 6 bulan dan peminjam perlu membayar semula. Setelah Menteri Kewangan campur tangan, barulah pihak bank sanggup menangguhkan pembayaran tanpa faedah.

Masalah yang timbul adalah, semasa moratorium dipekenalkan, ianya baru hampir 6 minggu selepas PKP diperkenalkan. Kini PKP telah dilanjutkan ke minggu yang kedua belas. Orang ramai masih duduk di rumah mengikut seruan Perdana Menteri supaya tinggal di rumah. Tetapi bila PKP dilonggarkan menjadi PKP Bersyarat (PKPB) pada 12 Mei, tempat orang ramai khasnya golongan berpendapatan rendah (B40) dan juga golongan M40 berbaris adalah di hadapan pajak gadai. Ramai yang telah ke sana untuk menggadai barangan kemas dan juga melanjutkan tempoh gadaian. Ini adalah kerana ramai yang hilangan punca pendapatan dan mendapati sukar untuk menjalani kehidupan seharian. Malah bak kata pepatah Melayu, ‘sudah jatuh, ditimpa tangga”, pihak pemegang pajak gadai mengenakan caj untuk barang di pajak gadai walaupun Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan menyatakan pihak pemegang pajak gadai memberi moratorium selama 3 bulan bermula 18 Mac hingga 12 Mei.

Apa yang rakyat perlukan masa ini adalah melanjutkan tempoh moratorium yang diberikan oleh pihak bank dan institusi kewangan dilanjutkan sehingga hujung tahun ini. Tiga bulan sudah berlalu sejak PKP diperkenalkan dan kini tinggal tiga bulan sahaja untuk rakyat bangun dan membanting tulang untuk meneruskan kehidupan mereka dalam suasana normal baharu. Masalahnya akan timbul sekiranya PKP akan dilanjutkan selepas 9 Jun apatah lagi bulan Syawal akan menjelma tidak lama lagi, dikhuatiri ada sebilangan rakyat yang masih meneruskan perjalanan balik kampung secara haram yang mungkin menjadi salah satu punca kenaikan kes positif Covid-19.

Sejak PKP diperkenalkan sejak 18 Mac, PKPB dan PKPD juga turut dipekenalkan dan dilanjutkan sehingga 9 Jun dan ianya melibatkan 84 hari. Ramai yang tidak pasti sama ada mereka masih mempunyai kerja atau terpaksa gulung tikar. Isu ini telah menimbulkan banyak persoalan. Malah ada laporan yang menganggarkan hampir satu juta orang yang akan kehilangan kerja.

Bagi pekerja yang mendapat gaji harian yang bekerja di sektor yang tidak formal terjejas teruk malah bantuan yang diberikan adalah terhad untuk mereka. Manakala untuk golongan peniaga telah pun memulakan perniagaan mereka bermula dari tempoh PKPB namun begitu keadaan telah banyak berubah jika dibandingkan dengan keadaan sebelum PKP. Perkara ini telah menjadi persoalan besar kepada mereka, berapa lama lagi masa yang mereka perlukan untuk menjalankan perniagaan seperti biasa kerana mereka memerlukan modal untuk meneruskan sektor perniagaan mereka.

Sehubungan itu, FOMCA menggesa pihak kerajaan untuk memanjangkan tempoh penangguhan pinjaman dari 6 bulan ke tempoh 9 bulan iaitu tambahan bulan Oktober sehingga Disember. Dengan harapan pekerja yang baru kehilangan pekerjaan dapat kembali berkhidmat ke tempat kerja yang baru.

________________________________________

Updated on  19 May 2020

MORATORIUM NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER 3 MONTHS (OCTOBER TO DECEMBER)

Covid -19 pandemic has indeed created a huge challenge to all of us in every aspect of our lives including socially and economically. The government has come out with some plans to assist the people. Unfortunately not all affected people seem to benefit from the Prihatin Economic Stimulus Package and the Prihatin SME Economic Stimulus Package

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has declared a 6 months moratorium for all borrowers from housing loans and car loans to as well as fixed rate Islamic financing. Inevitably, the Minister of Finance had to coax the Banks to defer the compound interest to be accrued to the principal. At the time when people are struggling to make ends meet, banks should be more compassionate instead focusing just on into profit making. The Movement Control Order (MCO) which was implemented on 18 March has been extended till 9th June 2020. Some places have been placed under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).

Throughout this ordeal of MCO and EMCO, more than one million people have lost their jobs and many others also had to take no pay leave or reduced pay. Financial constraints have caused severe family tribulations. This was proven when MCO was lifted to Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) many people rushed to pawn shops. The queues at the pawn shops throughout the nation were very long. Many people were there to pawn their jewelleries or to renew their items pawned. Pawn shops are known as the poor men’s bank as many customers are from the lower income bracket (B40) and some from the middle income bracket (M40). Many throng to these shops as they faced financial constraints during this challenging time. It clearly shows that the government aid is relatively insufficient to make ends meet. To rub salt into the wound, some pawn brokers went on to charge on their customer interests despite the fact that the Minister of Housing and Local Government had declared that Pawn Brokers have deferred the interest during the MCO, from March 18 to May 12.

What we seriously need now is an extended moratorium from the present 6 months to 9 months. In another word, banks should provide the moratorium till the end of this year. It is going to be extremely difficult for the general public to pick themselves up after the loss of income, being laid off the jobs and start looking for new jobs and at the same time pay up for all the debts accrued throughout the MCO, EMCO and CMCO ordeal. When people are doing better, they will take more loans and banks will make profit. Banks need customers to keep their cash and take loans. Without consumers, banks will collapse. It is a Win-Win situation. At this challenging time, banks should lend a hand and give in by extending the moratorium.

The MCO and CMCO have since been extended to 84 days, and there is a possibility that it may be extended even beyond if there is a spike in the number of infected people. During this period, with festive season around the corner and with no ending of the movement control in sight, workers are losing their jobs, having their incomes reduced and facing a bleak and uncertainty economic recovery in the future. Thus many families are facing these crises with limited means as well as not having a clear picture of their employment future. The six month deferment of their bank obligations was useful but certainly not sufficient. Hence, it really needs to be extended for additional 3 months, until December.

Daily wage earners and workers in the informal sectors do not have access even to this limited aid given. Some have opened up their business during CMCO but it is not the same as before as not many customers are patronizing their outlets. They are frizzling out since they have to buy raw material and need the capital to churn their sectors. How long it will take for them to start living and make a decent living is a big question in their heads.

FOMCA calls on the government to extend the loan deferment from the present 6 months to 9 months, additional month of October to December. This 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.

____________________________________________________________________

Original Petition

Prime Minister Of Malaysia: COVID19 Moratorium-BNM needs to revert decision on Compounding Interest for all Rakyat

FOMCA Needs Rakyat Support to gain signature on this Moratorium rip off by the Banks and BNM.

BNM has just released a new FAQ dated 1st May 2020 and it denies reversing its decision to offer automatic 6-months payment deferment for hire-purchase and fixed-rate Islamic financing. In FAQ #2, it now states that interest/profit will also be accrued over the deferment period for these loans and will also need to be repaid once payments resume post-deferment, which is completely opposite to what was mentioned in the earlier FAQ.

Central Bank is being inhumane for allowing banks to charge accrued interest during the moratorium. The move is equivalent to ‘daylight robbery’ on borrowers whose finances are already stretched thin during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

A SUDDEN change to the six-month moratorium on hire purchase (HP) and fixed-rate Islamic financing loans will only add to the people’s burden.

This is real case of misleading the consumers and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) seems to be overlooking the plight of the public amid the Covid-19 crisis. In this instance, especially in this real near tragedy where people are facing so many issues, like loss of jobs, loss of income, an uncertain future… to put this additional burden on consumers is very unfair and disgraceful.

With this sudden procedural change, people are expected to come up with the six months’ accumulated interest charged to borrowers over the moratorium period. This is absolutely absurd and demeaning.

Central bank should understand general public burden, with many having lost their jobs due to the movement-control order (MCO) enforced to halt the virus from spreading. BNM should focus on reducing the public’s financial burden instead of helping banks gain profit during this tumultuous and challenging times

“As a centrifugal bank, BNM should not only look at banks making profits, but also the welfare of consumers as well. They should put that ahead of what banks want. Consumers’ well-being should be given priority at this time when they are the ones who are badly affected.

Majority of Malaysians do not have the means to pay the accumulated interest in one go, adding that private sector employees have been badly affected and will need to prepare and recover during the post-MCO stretch. Nobody has the capacity to pay in bulk. Even after the MCO, it is going to take time for them to recover. Even those who have been retrenched and are looking for new jobs will need to take a big pay cut. All these are major burden faced by consumers at large.

FOMCA hopes that BNM will take into consideration the adversities and mammoth tasks faced by the people and review and rescind its recent decision.

Banks want to collect as much as they can. What is the point of having a regulator if the centrifugal regulator does not protect the consumers? What if consumers withdraw all monies from banking system...? Which bank can sustain the weight?

FOMCA hope BNM will put its foot down and protect consumers during this pandemic.