Pn. Rokiah* and her husband of 20 years decided that in tandem with the booming economy of the mid 90's they open a share trading account in the bank her husband works for. Pn. Rokiah held a steady job, while her husband had just been promoted to a senior position as a remisier. The economic high bode well for the family. The couple in their mid 40's had been planning on saving up for their 3 children's tertiary education.
Pn. Rokiah and her husband were already planning on enrolling their eldest daughter to study medicine at a well-renowned and distinguished university in Dublin. The couple would not have been able to afford such expenses were it not for the share trading account which gifted the couple with more than they would normally earn. For the family of 5, the future much like the present looked prosperous. Though equipped with the ability to afford luxuries, they still spent within their means and understood the importance of being frugal.
Just as things were looking bright for Pn. Rokiah and her family, circumstances took an unfortunate twist in 1996. Her husband's service as a remisier in the bank was terminated due to a massive short-fall arising from trading losses incurred under his client's portfolio. To add insult to injury, her husband was consequently adjudged bankrupt in the late 90's - when the Financial Crisis was at its worst in Asia. Calling the period dark would be an understatement. The breadwinner was out of a job and could not secure a steady well paying occupation due to his bankrupt status. Finance became the crux of arguments as both adults tried to make ends meet. The children were not better off; lodged between unsettled parents and the possibility of not having a bright university education, they went on worrying about their uncertain future while trying to mitigate problems in the present. With all this going on, the Bank continued their legal action against Pn. Rokiah and her husband to recover losses from the trading account she shared with her husband. As with most Banks, it is the practice that upfront payment is imposed as a penalty for losses incurred in trading accounts. This made matters worse for the couple as they were unable to come up with the required up front payment; resulting in them breaching settlement proposals with the Bank.
Pn. Rokiah and her husband relentlessly negotiated with the Bank for 12 arduous years before seeking help from AKPK in June 2008. Initially the Bank was adamant about standing by their decision to advance with imposing the upfront payment. The AKPK agent had to appeal at length and explained the repercussions of imposing the penalty on both Pn. Rokiah and her husband. It was pointed out that the couple had a positive cash flow to repay the debts on installment basis.
The couple felt relieved when the Bank's effort with the penalty proceedings came to a halt. The Bank accepted AKPK's proposal of 50% waivers on monthly installments. The discounted outstanding of RM164,244 was to be serviced vide monthly installments of RM1,500 without interest. This will take approximately 9 years to settle. It may be a while before the couple settles their debt, but with follow up counseling on financial planning organized by AKPK, the couple will be able to gradually build their lives and simultaneously service the monthly installments at a comfortable pace; not losing any sleep over finances and losing out on life.
**Note: For purposes of confidentiality, the real identity of the people involved in these success stories are not disclosed.