KUALA LUMPUR: Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said mengadakan rundingan meja bulat yang membabitkan Bank Negara Malaysia, Agensi Kaunseling  dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) dan Persatuan Bank-Bank Dalam Malaysia berkenaan isu-isu berkaitan kebankrapan.

"Rundingan meja bulat ini bertujuan memberi gambaran yang lebih jelas kepada pihak bank mengenai pindaan-pindaan yang telah dibuat Kerajaan di dalam Akta Insolvensi 1967," katanya.

"Rundingan meja bulat ini juga dibuat bagi membincangkan isu-isu teknikal yang dihadapi oleh pihak-pihak yang berkenaan."

Isu-isu teknikal

 Antara isu yang dibincangkan adalah mekanisme penyelamat melalui kaedah Perkiraan Sukarela (Voluntary Assessment atau VA).

Juga dibincang adalah berkenaan dengan kenaikan had minimum kebankrapan daripada RM30,000 kepada RM50,000 dan kes-kes kebankrapan yang telah ditadbir pihak-pihak berkenaan yang melebihi 15 tahun.

Selain itu, Azalina turut menyatakan hasrat Kerajaan untuk melepaskan sebanyak 10,000 bankrap setahun bagi tempoh lima tahun.

"Kerajaan juga berharap agar pihak bank meneliti dan membuat pertimbangan yang sewajarnya sebelum bantahan terhadap pelepasan dikemukakan."

Kerajaan prihatin

Pihak kerajaan turut mempelawa agar kerjasama yang baik daripada pihak bank dapat dicapai untuk membenarkan mekanisme 'penyelamat' digunakan untuk memberi peluang kepada penghutang menyusun semula hutangnya bagi mengelak sebarang prosiding kebankrapan diambil terhadap mereka.

Turut sama, Ketua Pengarah  BHEUU, Datuk Jalil Marzuki, Timbalan Ketua Pengarah MdI, Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, Pengarah Jabatan Consumer dan Amalan Pasaran Bank Negara, Jeremy Lee, Pengarah Eksekutif Persatuan Bank-Bank Dalam Malaysia, Kalpana Sambasivamurthy, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AKPK, Azaddin Ngah Tasir dan lebih 30 wakil bank kormersial yang beroperasi di Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Debt Management and Counselling Agency (AKPK) has expanded its role to become a nominee under the Voluntary Arrangement (VA) service, a rescue mechanism to help potential bankrupts.

Chief Executive Officer Azaddin Ngah Tasir said the new service would provide debtors an opportunity to negotiate a debt repayment plan with creditors and avoid bankruptcy.          

 “This rescue mechanism acts as a ‘second chance’ for borrowers to regain control of their finances, without placing any restriction on them, the way bankruptcy does,” he told reporters at the VA Awareness Briefing here, today.

Azaddin said with the VA, debtors would have the advantage of a moratorium of legal action and the process would be legally binding, unlike its Debt Management Programme (DMP).

The service would also make it more cost-efficient for credit providers as an alternative collection source, and they would be assured of the debt repayment.

He said under the VA, the court would issue a 90-day interim order, during which AKPK would help the debtor prepare a debt repayment structure.

He added that AKPK would charge the debtor up to 5% of the outstanding debt for its service.

“We hope the VA will create a mutual win-win situation for all parties and reduce bankruptcy figures in the country,” said Azaddin.

The VA scheme was introduced under the revised Insolvency Act 1967 which came into force on Oct 6, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Department of Insolvency Director-General Datuk Abdul Rahman Putra Taha said the rescue mechanism was a necessary feature in all bankruptcy regimes.

“This is the transition towards self-resolution to promote responsible debt settlement and individual debtor rehabilitation,” he added.

He said there was a need to constantly revise the insolvency law to ensure it remained relevant to support Malaysia’s growth.

“We are also hoping to change the people’s mindset regarding insolvency – that a bankrupt is not a bankrupt for life,” he added.

From 2013-2017, there were 100,610 bankruptcy cases, 34.4% of which were from the 34-44 age group.

Men accounted for over 69% of the bankruptcy cases during the period.