KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Borrowers must begin servicing their loans from October as the repayment moratorium will end as scheduled in September, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said today.
He told the Parliament that banks will instead take a targeted approach in helping borrowers with restructuring their existing loans.
“The moratorium is for six months, that is until September 2020. The amount that has been allocated for this is about RM100 billion.
“So the next step after discussions; discussions are still underway with local banks to help in a more targeted manner,” he said in a reply to Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (Pontian-Umno).
Tengku Zafrul said an example is to extend the loan repayment period to reduce the amount of monthly repayments.
Another example, he said, is to change the terms and conditions and change the interest rate, and grant other exemptions until the borrowers are financially stable.
“However, for now, we hope that the borrowers would meet the banks and get help from the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency and Small Loan Scheme,” he added.
The minister added there was no need for an extension as most businesses have been allowed to resume operations and borrowers should consequently be able to make their loan payments by now.
Ahmad had asked Tengku Zafrul as to whether local banks have the ability to further extend the loan moratorium period, and asked if more announcements would be made to the government’s initiatives under the Penjana economic recovery stimulus.
MORE TO COME