A total of 17,599 people have reportedly declared bankruptcy between 2020 and May this year, with men accounting for 73.7 per cent (12,970) and Malays comprising 58.3 per cent (10,267) of all cases.
Women accounted for 4,607 cases, with 22 cases under unknown genders. As for breakdowns by race, 4,447 cases involved Chinese, 1,321 Indians, 1,516 Malaysians of other races and 48 foreigners.
The highest number of bankruptcies declared by age group happened to those between 35-44 with 6,681 cases, followed by 45-54 (4,819), 25-34 (3,171), those aged 55 and above (2,823), and finally youths aged 25 and below (46). A remainder of 59 cases involved unknown ages.
The highest number of bankruptcies occurred in Selangor (4,164), followed by Kuala Lumpur (2,203), Johor (1,987) and Sabah (1,642).
The Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2020, or Act 360, had been amended in Section 5(1)(a) in order to increase the minimum value of bankruptcy from RM50,000 to RM100,000.
In June, it was reported that close to 60 per cent of the 46,132 Malaysians who declared bankrupt from 2018 to May this year were aged between 25 and 44.
Nearly 42 per cent of those who declared bankruptcy in the same time period cited personal loans as a factor leading to bankruptcy, followed by nearly 15 per cent who listed vehicle purchase as a factor, and more than 13 because of business loans.
For the first time in Indian history, a tribal leader is going to helm the top constitutional post. Droupadi Murmu, the ruling BJP candidate, was elected as the 15th President of India on Thursday by securing over 60 per cent of the total vote value. The President-elect will take oath on July 25.
Incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure is set to end on July 24 and the next president will take oath on July 25. Nearly 4,800 MP and MLAs cast their votes on Monday to elect the next president of India.
Who is Droupadi Murmu - The 64-year-old Murmu hails from India’s poorest but resource-rich state of Odisha. She spent her childhood in Mayurbhanj district and used to work as a teacher.
She earlier served as the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021. She was the longest-serving governor of the mineral-rich state which came into existence in 2000.
Her political journey began when she was elected as a councillor from Rairangpur in 1997. She then contested successfully on BJP tickets and became MLA from Rairangpur in 2000 and then in 2009.
From 2000 to 2002, the 64-year-old was made minister of state with independent charge for Commerce and Transport in the Odisha government, which was run by a coalition of BJP and the regional party BJD. Then from 2002 and 2004, she was given the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development portfolio.
She had also served as the vice-president of BJP’s Scheduled Tribes Morcha in Odisha between 2006 and 2009 and was elected party president in the Mayurbhanj district several times.
What is the significance of her elevation - Murmu belongs to the Santhal tribe of Odisha. The tribe is spread over four states and is India's largest scheduled tribe after the Bhils and Gonds.
Her elevation to the top post is being perceived as the triumph of tribal empowerment and the community’s political aspirations, which have long been neglected.
Approximately three million housewives in Malaysia will soon be eligible for a voluntary insurance protection scheme against injuries suffered while tending to their families and homes. This comes after the Dewan Rakyat passed the Housewives Social Security Bill (HSS), which allows husbands to voluntarily contribute to the scheme for their wives who are below the age of 55.
The scheme, to be managed by the Social Security Organisation (Socso), would offer insurance coverage of between RM300 and RM50,000 depending on the seriousness of the injuries sustained by housewives at home.
The government will allocate RM20mil to provide insurance coverage to 150,000 housewives from the B40 group for 10 months under the scheme, and will seek further allocation from the Finance Ministry for the purpose. For a start, HSS would only cover housewives and not husbands who assumed the role of a homemaker.
Contribution - Under the scheme, husbands are required to pay RM120 in advance to Socso to provide protection for their wives over a 12-month period. The contributions can be made through deductions by the husband’s employers.
A husband who has voluntarily registered for the scheme but fails to make the contribution could face a RM10,000 fine. However, a husband could escape liability should he inform Socso in writing that he is unable to continue with contributions due to loss of income or other reasons.
Housewives can also choose to make their own voluntary contributions if their husbands opt not to sign up for the scheme. The scheme, which is open to housewives in all income groups, offers a range of medical benefits and compensation payments of between RM300 and RM50,000 depending on the seriousness of their injuries sustained at home.
HSS Protection - Under the scheme - participating members who suffer total permanent disability such as the loss of a hand or foot, severe facial disfigurement, loss of sight essential for work or absolute deafness will be eligible for RM30,000 in compensation.
Compensation of RM300 will also be paid out to housewives who lose part of their toes. Also provided is a RM250 monthly allowance to housewives requiring constant attendance due to their injuries. This includes RM200 a month for dialysis treatment for those suffering from end-stage renal failure.
A housewife will also be entitled up to RM50,000 for physical rehabilitation due to her injuries.
Awang said housewives would continue to be protected throughout the insurance coverage period should they divorce their husbands. They will still be protected throughout the coverage period as long as the injury sustained occurred before the divorce.
A fugitive Malaysian businessman operating in Thailand has been arrested in southern Songkhla province for alleged money laundering. Teow Wooi Huat, the founder of MBI Group International, was arrested in the early hours yesterday. Police also searched his MBI Group office in Sadao district on the Thai-Malaysian border.
His capture came after the recent arrests of local politicians in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces. Police investigation discovered their links to Teow, police said on Friday. The business tycoon was found to be the major financier of online gambling rings.
MBI Group’s office in Thailand is located on 16ha of land. It is involved in businesses ranging from hotels and entertainment outlets to amusement parks and real estate.
Teow had been arrested in 2017 on the charge of drug dealing. He fled to Songkhla and later managed to escape prosecution. In 2018, Malaysian authorities charged Teow with financial crimes. His assets were seized for his connection with a pyramid scheme. He fled to Thailand last year.
His company MBI Group International made headlines in Malaysia in October 2019 when scores of Chinese nationals rallied outside the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, claiming they had lost their life savings to the firm. The people said they had been “cheated” by an online pyramid scheme allegedly run by MBI Group International.
Teow was also wanted in Malaysia in connection with a RM336mil (US$83mil) money-laundering scam in Macau.
Malaysia’s central bank is giving foreign insurers until the end of 2023 to either reduce stakes in their local ventures or contribute to a charitable fund. Foreign insurers that do not comply with the ownership limit by the deadline will have to pay into a national health insurance program known as B40 Health Protection Fund, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
The initiative, which was piloted in 2018 by the Malaysian government, provides coverage to lower income households needing treatment for critical illnesses. Insurance companies that contribute to the B40 fund will be deemed to have complied with the ownership limit.
Foreign shareholders accepted the divestment condition when they entered the Malaysian market. The central bank continues to engage with foreign shareholders on their divestment plans and does not comment on specific cases.
AIA Group Ltd, Prudential Plc, Tokio Marine Holdings Inc and Zurich Insurance Group AG are among the international insurers with ventures in the country. Singapore’s Great Eastern Holdings Ltd is the only foreign insurer to have publicly announced a contribution to date, pledging RM2bil (US$451mil) to the B40 fund in 2019, according to a stock exchange filing.
70% Cap Foreign Insurer - The deadline would see Bank Negara enforcing the limit it introduced in 2009 with the liberalization of foreign ownership. The ruling mandated that overseas insurance companies were allowed to hold a maximum 70% in local firms, but it was mostly disregarded until 2017 when the regulator issued a directive reminding insurers they have to meet the requirement.
A plan to impose a hard deadline for compliance in 2018 fell by the wayside following a change in government in the general elections that year. Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus told reporters at the time that foreign insurers would be given some flexibility to pursue options, and that the deadline would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Optics and imaging giant Nikon will stop making new single lens reflex cameras — once the technological mainstay of professional photography. The death of SLR cameras has been coming for quite some time, as mirrorless alternatives have increased in image quality while offering consumers the option to use lighter and smaller products.
According to Nikkei, Nikon will continue to produce and distribute its existing SLR models, but will focus development of new models entirely on mirrorless. Nikkei notes that Nikon’s SLR cameras were “widely used by professional cameramen for more than 60 years and have come to be seen as synonymous with the Japanese company.”
Just last month, Nikon announced that it was discontinuing two of its more affordable DSLRs, the D3500 and D5600 to focus more on “mid to high end cameras and lenses, targeted at professional and hobbyist photographers” while strengthening products for younger users “for whom video is the primary focus.” Last year, according to Nikkei, Nikon sold more than 400,000 SLR cameras.
As well as the rise of mirrorless tech, SLR cameras have also been out-competed by smartphone technology, which has shrunk the camera market over decades.
Canon, the market leader in SLR cameras, has been making similar retreats from the technology. Canon’s CEO said that “market needs are rapidly moving toward mirrorless cameras. So accordingly, we’re increasingly moving people in that direction,” but suggested the company would continue make some intro- and mid-range level DSLR cameras in future.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is targeting 300,000 contributors to take advantage of the i-Lindung platform launched on Tuesday (July 12) within the first year. The premium is as low as RM30 per annum, the total coverage offered for i-Lindung is RM10,000.
The EPF launched the i-Lindung platform under the Members Protection Plan to facilitate the purchase of insurance and takaful products consisting of life and critical illness protection at an affordable premium from Account 2, with the protection offerings available to EPF members with immediate effect.
Low Penetration rate - The ownership of insurance policies and takaful certificates among the people in this country is still low, especially those in the lowest 40% monthly income group or B40. This situation is particularly worrying as this segment is more vulnerable to disasters and faces a lack of protection. At the industry level, the ownership rate of insurance and takaful coverage that is low will certainly stunt the growth of the insurance coverage industry overall.
Citing a study from the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia in 2020, Ahmad Badri said that the insurance penetration rate in the country is only at 56.1% for insurance and takaful, and after deducting the number of policyholders with more than two policies, the rate is reduced to 41%.
Of that total percentage, he said over 90% had not enough coverage for themselves and their families. Only 4% of households from the low-income group have takaful coverage or life insurance.
In a statement, the EPF said members who wish to purchase insurance and participate in takaful products offered by EPF-approved insurance companies and takaful operators can do so via the i-Lindung platform within the EPF i-Akaun (Member) portal.
Participating insurance companies and takaful operators - are FWD Takaful Bhd, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd, Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd, Etiqa Life Insurance Bhd and Etiqa Family Takaful Bhd.
Members below age 55 with a sufficient balance in Account 2, who are Malaysian and registered i-Akaun users, are eligible to purchase products under i-Lindung. Those above age 55 can also purchase products under i-Lindung provided that they are within the eligible entry age of related products and maintain a minimum RM100 in their Akaun 55 or Akaun Emas.
The registration of new EPF members rose by 57% to 146,000 in the first quarter of 2022, while voluntary contributors under the i-Saraan programme jumped 77% to 599,000 individuals. This was after the EPF embarked on a long-term strategy to expand the social protection coverage of Malaysians in an effort to strengthen government-linked companies’ support ecosystem.
