HUMAN rights activist and lawyer Charles Hector has vented his opposition to a plan by the government “to channel back RM11.2 bil of unclaimed monies after 10 years for the development and well-being of the people”.
This is because the government has all the information its citizens in Malaysia, hence it would not pose a problem to trace the owners or even their heirs to return the monies in the event the owners are dead.
“Rather than taking it, the government should really return all these unclaimed monies to their owners (or those now entitled). The With all exiting personal data, the government will be in the position to identify/find these owners (or their heirs, family) and return it,” argued Hector in a recent blog.
“It’s so sad that the government is now trying to amend the laws so that these unclaimed monies can be absorbed by the government sooner by reducing the tenure from 15 years to 10 years. The amending Bill is in Parliament.”
Fort context, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan had on March 11 tabled amendments to the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat which will allow the government to consider unclaimed money as revenue after 10 years.
Under the existing law, unclaimed money previously held by companies and lodged with the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys is to be credited into the Consolidated Trust Account.
After a lapse of 15 years, the unclaimed money under the trust fund is to be transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Account. The proposed amendments to Section 11 under the Act will see the 15-year period shortened to 10 years.
According to Hector, there are many people with different bank accounts, including fixed deposits. They may change banks and open new accounts when they move to a different location or even change an employer (as many employers desire their employee wages to be deposited in an account of a particular bank).
This means that they will have many bank accounts which they have forgotten, more so since most banks have stopped sending monthly bank statements.
“Some account holders may have died with their family/heirs being unaware of these ‘other’ bank accounts, etc,” contended Hector who is also co-founder of NGO Malaysians Against Death Penalty & Torture (MADPET).
“Some may have become old and forgotten about their accounts, maybe by reason of Alzheimer, Dementia or simply old age. Even young people can forget. This is similar with other investments, shares and stock.” – March 31, 2024
