No moratorium, but is this really for the best?

BANK Negara Malaysia (BNM) recently said that another round of blanket automatic loan moratorium was not in the cards, since most economic sectors had been allowed to operate during the third movement control order (MCO 3.0).

However, BNM governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus advised borrowers requiring financial assistance to speak to their respective banks in order to obtain the most suitable assistance for their needs.

All banks, she said, already have their payment assistance plans, including targeted loan moratoriums, which can be offered to borrowers who have lost their jobs or suffered a reduction in income.

But consider this: Had the problem been easily resolved by obtaining financial assistance from banks, why were businesses still suffering?

The situation is further aggravated by the recent introduction of the poorly-designed Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system.

All premises listed under the system were ordered to close for three days for deep sanitisation, and this move, albeit temporary, would negatively affect business owners who were already struggling to get by as a result of the pandemic.

Furthermore, the surge in daily COVID-19 cases have sent people back to staying indoors.

While it is true that most economic sectors are allowed to operate during MCO 3.0, people are no longer going out en masse just for the sake of going out, and this has no doubt affected their purchasing power as well.

Although most businesses are still allowed to operate as usual during this MCO, but make no mistake, the drop in business activity does not help their businesses one bit. How will they, then, cope with the loss in income?

Furthermore, a blanket loan moratorium isn’t the only thing that the Government must consider. What about the cash aids, especially for the B40 household group?

There have been various reports that despite six major economic stimulus packages amounting to RM340 bil being announced by the Government in the past year, the impact was not felt by most ordinary citizens who remain cash-strapped.

Worse is the fact that many in the B40 household group – especially those in rural areas – who have not received any form of cash aids from the Government.

This is possibly due to the lack of an EPF account, a tax filing number or even a banking account. What about these people, then? How will the Government help ease their burden?

There is no doubt that more needs to be done to ease the people’s financial burdens, but the problem here is that the Government doesn’t seem to be listening.

Instead of saying ‘no’ to another blanket automatic loan moratorium, maybe it’s high time the central bank, alongside the relevant authorities, take a closer look at what the people want. – May 14, 2021

 

Photo credit: NewsBTC

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