Malaysian - Poor Financial Planning

In its Financial Capability and Inclusion Study 2015, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) found the majority of the over 3,000 Malaysians surveyed do not have a proper budget plan or practise financial discipline to manage their spending and debt.

Malaysia’s central bank revealed today a mere 6 per cent of salaried Malaysians are able to sustain themselves for more than six months if they lose their jobs, the main source of their income.


The survey also found that only 51 per cent of the respondents have a “rainy day” fund, while 76 per cent admitted to having difficulty to raise RM1,000 in emergency cash if needed.


Malaysians tend to focus on short-sighted gratification. Debt levels are especially acute for Malaysians in the bottom-40 per cent category, averaging at 14 times their annual income. A whopping 93 per cent of the survey respondents earn a monthly wage of RM3,000 or less individually while 93 per cent of the households earn RM5,000 or lower.


About 19 per cent of the respondents also said they felt they have too much debt, and only 26 per cent said they make full settlements of their credit card debts at the end of the month.


Young adults are especially ill-prepared to manage their own finances, with many youths who have just joined the workforce saddled with heavy debts. Malaysians who urgently need help with financial management are those with an annual income of RM48,000 or less and living in either the Klang Valley, Johor or Penang, aged between 25 and 45 years, married with dependents and of Malay descent.


For Malaysians living outside the three industrialised states, income range for those in urgent need of help goes down to RM36,000 or lower per annum.