Moratorium has no meaning if not interest-free, Guan Eng tells govt

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: The six-month loan moratorium is meaningless and cannot alleviate the hardship of Malaysians if it is not interest-free for all except for those in the Top 20 (T20) group, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He reminded the newly-appointed National Recovery Plan coordinating minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz that the loan moratorium will only help in alleviating the financial problems of workers and businesses if it was interest-free.

Lim called for Perikatan Nasional (PN) to act boldly and instruct Bank Negara to direct the banks to waive interest during the loan moratorium except for those who are in the T20 (top 20 income earning) category.

“It is pointless for the government to grant a six-month bank loan moratorium if borrowers still have to pay even higher accrued interest after the moratorium. This higher overall cost of borrowing for those opting in for the moratorium was highlighted by Bank Negara.

“It warned borrowers that while banks will not charge any compounding interest or penalty interest while the payment is being deferred, interest will still be accrued on the deferred amounts,” the former finance minister said in a statement today.


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