KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 14): Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today called for the people to do comprehensive financial analysis especially in terms of the availability of cash flow before committing to long-term debt.

She said they should plan their finances first and be sure of their capability to repay the debt so that they would not face any hardship to service their liabilities later on.   

"For those who want to use credit cards, ask yourself before you swipe it whether you can afford to settle the monthly payment,” she said in her speech at the launch of  Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK)'s collaboration awards ceremony here.

AKPK chairman Anuar Mohd Hassan and Bank Negara Malaysia Assistant Governor Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya were among those present.

Dr Wan Azizah said as at October this year, some one million individuals had received counselling from the AKPK, and of the total, close to 300,000 participated in the agency's debt management programme.

“I was also informed that AKPK has successfully solved 24,000 debt cases amounting to over RM1 billion,” she added.  

Dr Wan Azizah who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister hoped the collaboration between AKPK, non-governmental organisations and the private sector would help enhance financial literacy among Malaysians.

She said this was because most Malaysians were still far from having enough savings for contingency purposes as proposed by personal finance experts of between three to six months of monthly spending.

“I was also made to understand that the financial literacy level among most Malaysians is very low whereas it is needed to manage a person's finances, be it for a short, medium or long-term,” she said.

She also hoped the effort would be targeted not only at working individuals but also among students.

At the same time, Dr Wan Azizah recommended that workers who were not in the pension scheme to set aside additional savings for their retirement apart from the mandatory contribution into the Employees Provident Fund.

At the event, the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) bagged the Best Media Award (Media Partner) while the Ministry of Education won the overall award — ‘Anugerah Apresiasi Unggul’ — and 16 others won in various categories.