Bankruptcy and the Management of Debtors and Creditors in Malaysia

According to a recent news item in the New Straits Times, creditors will not be able to present bankruptcy petitions against debtors unless they can prove that all avenues were made to trace the latter for repayments, and delivery of any notices actually reached them. This is under a planned reform of the Bankruptcy Act 1967.

Currently, under the act, only social guarantors are given this sort of protection as it required creditors to exhaust all avenues to recover debts owed to them by debtors.

Insolvency Department deputy director-general Haini Hassan said the reform would also see the end of creditors easily passing the bulk of work to the department to do retrieval of monies from debtors by liquidating their assets. “There is also a proposal for creditors to be given two to three years to do that before filing the petition,” she said in an interview.

The department is also planning to make it a punishable offence (in addition to the current citation for contempt of court) for bankrupts, who failed to file their Statement of Affairs to the department within 21 days after being declared so.

Haini said these reform plans would not only enable better management by both creditors and the department but would also keep the number of bankrupts in the country under control.

Haini also said it was worrying that out of the 218,561 bankrupts in the country, 60 percent were not even aware that they had been declared bankrupt.

Bankruptcy Trend in Malaysia

According to a recent newspaper report, there were 38357 bankrupts in the last five and a half years between the age of 25 and 44. The trend is that people who declared bankruptcy are getting younger. Here is the breakdown of those who declared bankruptcy from 2005 until May 2010:

Take-home messages


• A business venture can be successful or end in failure. The most important thing is not to put all the eggs in one basket. An emergency fund lasting three to six months to cover your normal expenses is a must.

• You can obtain a loan but it has to be included in your monthly cash outflow. If it is not within your budget. Don’t go for a loan to buy a car or a house. Save for a bigger down payment.

• You are not obligated to stand as a guarantor. You cannot control how another person manages his or her finance so you cannot be sure that the person who gets the loan will honor the loan repayments fully. Do you like to pay for something you don’t own every month? This will happen when the borrower defaulted and he or she is nowhere to be found.

• Credit card is not for getting credit (The bank will be very happy if you do): The right way to use a credit card is to back up a dollar your charge to your card with a dollar in your bank account. At the end of the month, you pay the amount due promptly and fully. The fact is that getting credit and incurring debt is easy but getting out of debt is very difficult.

• There are two things in life you cannot escape; that is death and tax. It is necessary to set aside an amount every month to cover tax payable.

10 Advantages of Credit Cards

Are you thinking of giving up your credit cards? Don’t. Credit cards are useful financial tools when you know the proper way to use them. Here are ten ways to use your credit cards to your advantage and spend less.


1. Cashless spending: It is much safer than carrying a lot of cash in your purse. It is convenient when you are running short of cash to buy an urgent and essential item.

2. Use your cards instead of cash: Use your credit cards instead of the amount that you have set aside for your monthly spending. You pay less when you use a credit card that gives you a discount for the purchases of your grocery and petrol. At the end of the month, you just issue a cheque from the account where you keep the money for your monthly expenses. You can’t get a discount when you pay in cash.

3. Simplify your life: Let your credit card settle your utility bills, insurance premiums, and other recurring expenses. There is no need to go to many places to pay for all these ongoing payments.

4. Big-ticket item: Get zero interest installment plan for the purchase of a big-ticket item. You can stretch your payment up to 36 monthly installments without incurring interest. However, you have to make sure that you have included the amount in your monthly budget.

5. Free credit: To avoid late payment charges and interest on the outstanding amount, pay the monthly bills fully and promptly. This is the way to enjoy credit free of charge for one month. Where else can you get credit to make purchases without interest and security?

6. Establish your creditworthiness: It is also a great way to establish your creditworthiness when you pay the monthly bills fully and promptly. It is an indication that you can be trusted to obtain credit and you have the means to pay and you do make payments promptly. When you apply for a loan in the future you will be considered favorably.

7. Best for holidays: See the world with peace of mind just by carrying your favorite credit cards. You can withdraw cash in local currency at any ATM for sundry expenses. It is better than travelers' cheques. Credit cards are accepted worldwide, take your cards along for a carefree holiday.

8. Online purchases: Online purchases are made possible with credit cards. It is safe and easy. If the transaction is not in the order you can always dispute it and cancel the order with no charge to your card.

9. Track your spending: Each and every transaction that you have charged to your cards is itemized and listed in the monthly statement. You will know when and where you have spent your money. There is no way to check your spending if you use cash unless you are willing to spend time to record where your money has gone.

10. A budgeting tool: You know precisely your spending pattern from your monthly credit card statements. It is a useful tool to budget and control your future spending.


The most important thing to remember is that you don’t use your credit cards to obtain credit and incur debt. Use your cards like using your own money. Stop charging it when there is no fund available.

Credit Card and Bankruptcy in Malaysia

According to the Malaysian law, you can become bankrupt when the outstanding sum involved is RM30000 (previously it was RM10000) or more with a default period of six months or more. Defaulting on credit card payment is among one of the ways to be bankrupt.

Among others, being bankrupt, you cannot


• Hold any public office without the approval of the Director-General of Insolvency Malaysia (DGI)
• Pursue and court action without the DGI’s permission
• Leave the country without the court’s or DGI’s permission. The DGI will hold your passport.
• Be a company director or carry out your own business or be involved in the management of a company without the court’s or the DGI’s approval.
• Be involved in the management of a company or be an employee of a company that is owned by your spouse or close relatives and their spouses
• Be a committee member of any registered body.
• Open a bank account without the approval of the DGI


A bankrupt can work but he or she has to leave a certain percentage of his or her income to the DGI to repay debts. A person can be discharged from "bankruptcy" when he or she has settled debts in full.

The sensible way to avoid being bankrupt is to pay your credit card bills fully and promptly every month upon receiving their statements.

The following is an extract from MyPF:

Malaysia Bankruptcy Law Updates

Malaysia’s bankruptcy laws receive an update in March 2017. Here are the key updates.

• The minimum to be declared bankrupt is raised to RM50,000 (from RM30,000).
• Social guarantors can no longer be declared bankrupt. Social guarantors provide guarantees to loans such as educational loans, hire-purchase loans, and housing loans which they are not beneficiaries of.
• Automatic discharge of bankruptcy after three years, subject to good behavior including making payments towards your debt and submitting a full accounting of your monies and properties (previously 5 years and subject to Director General of Insolvency’s approval).
• A debtor may propose a voluntary arrangement to his creditors any time before he is adjudged bankrupt.
• A bankruptcy notice needs to be served personally to a debtor.

Things to Consider before Getting a Credit Card

Do not think that when you have a credit card your lifestyle will change for the better or you can spend freely. In fact, when you don’t manage your credit card with care you will end up as a bankrupt 

Consider the following before acquiring a credit card:


1. For convenience and not for credit: Don’t think that you can increase your spending power by just paying the minimum amount and roll the balance to the following month and continue to spend in this way. A credit card is for convenience and not to obtain credit or to incur debt. The outstanding amount has to be settled fully and promptly when you receive the monthly statements

2. Take advantage of credit card benefits: You can take advantage of your credit card to reduce your normal expenses such as petrol and other grocery items. For certain cards, you are given rebates for the purchase of these items.

3. Simplify your life: You can arrange with the card issuer to pay for all your utility bills and insurance premium. Life is easier when you don’t have to issue too many cheques and go to too many places to settle your monthly bills and commitments

4. Self-discipline: Are you able to control your spending according to your budget?
Are you not an impulsive spender? You can keep a credit card if you follow closely your monthly spending pattern with or without a card.

5. Track your spending: You can use your credit card as a tracking tool to monitor your spending. Review the monthly statements to trim unnecessary expenses.


When used correctly, a credit card is an asset and not a liability.

Central Credit Reference Information System of Malaysia

Central Credit Reference Information System

There was a story in The Star telling that an applicant who changed her mind and never collected the credit card. However, RM5 was debited into the account. Because the card was neither collected nor used, it may be presumed that no statements were sent.

As often happens, a surprise awaited the individual concerned when her application for a housing loan at another bank was rejected because she had been “blacklisted” on account of the outstanding debt of RM5 that had been reported to the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS).

According to the article, Credit Worthiness, there is no such thing in law as a blacklist described or defined anywhere or in any document. It is a word that has come to refer to arrangements made by individuals, groups, or even institutions to create an “alert” system.

However, through the ignorance of some of the officers of lending institutions or institutions granting credit, and lack of appreciation of the role of such an alert system, its usefulness is not really appreciated and instead results in inconvenience. The purpose of such a list is not to condemn an individual just because his or her name is on it.

Its real purpose is to alert the organization to which a loan or other application is made as to some relevant aspects of the individual or organization’s past dealings with a view to a possible critical examination. The existence of such a list is to assist in the process of credit evaluation. This can only be done by asking the person concerned for an explanation with regard to the nature of the list.

The individual is put through unnecessary inconvenience for which there is no real remedy. This is because the repository of the information will merely claim to store and making the available date. The lending institution will say that at that stage, there is no contractual relationship that can be the basis of wrongdoing.

The writer, Bhag Singh, recommends that given such a scenario, the welfare of the individual can only be protected by having institutions with better-trained officers and regulatory bodies that can exercise greater vigilance to safeguard the interest of the public.

Related post:

Credit Report

Credit Report

Your credit report contains your credit history and your personal information. Your credit record includes your credit accounts, loans, bankruptcies, and late payments. Upon receiving an application for a loan or credit from you, financial institutions can obtain your credit report to assess your credit-worthiness before approving your application. It is very important that your credit report is updated before making credit applications.

In Malaysia, you can obtain your credit report from the Credit Bureau of Bank Negara Malaysia. It is housed in a computerized database system known as the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS).

In the past, the Credit Bureau of Bank Negara Malaysia was empowered to disclose credit information only to financial institutions. With effect from March 2002, an individual can request for his own credit record. However, you can only apply for a credit report once every 12 months. It is free of charge.

When you wish to ask for your credit report you can go to

http://www.creditbureau.bnm.gov.my and download Form CBS 01 (Credit Report Request Form) from Bank Negara Malaysia or Central Bank of Malaysia.

If you dispute the information reported by the financial institutions in your credit report you can fill up another form, Request for Data Review. The Credit Bureau will investigate and notify the financial institution that had provided the disputed information together with all relevant data. The investigation and remedial process will normally take about a month to be completed. You will be notified of the outcome of the investigation. In the event that the disputed information is confirmed accurate, you are advised to refer the matter to the respective financial institution.