KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz has suggested that accrued interest or profit imposed by financial institutions on hire purchase customers be waived during the six-month moratorium period.
He said there were banks that offered the loan moratorium without charging accrued interest or compounded interest on the loans.
"Considering that there is a possibility that this can be implemented and after listening to the people's demand, I would like to recommend that all financial institutions, especially those that are involved in offering the moratorium to consider waiving the accrued interest (for hire purchase loans) or profit (for fixed-rate Islamic financing loans) during the six-month moratorium," he said in a Facebook post on Saturday (May 2).
Tengku Zafrul said the issue was under the purview of the Bank Negara, but the ministry had taken a proactive step to discuss with it, as well as the banks, for a decision based on the people's needs.
"We, at the ministry, are ready to collaborate with Bank Negara and the banking sector to ensure the implementation of the proposal.
"The government is sensitive to the voice of the people, especially those from the B40 and M40 groups.
"I hope that this view can be considered by Bank Negara and the financial institutions in the country," he said.
Tengku Zafrul said recently the mass media and people had raised the issue, and there had been confusion over the interests as a result of inaccurate source of information. However, Bank Negara had on Friday (May 1) clarified through its "Frequently Asked Questions" for the management of hire purchase and fixed-rate Islamic financing loans on its website.
Source : https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/02/finance-minister-urges-banks-to-waive-accrued-interest-during-hp-loan-moratorium-period#cxrecs_s