Young Malaysians find themselves in growing debt trap

Financial commitments, such as repayment of credit cards, eat into the bulk of their monthly budget. Read more at straitstimes.com.

PETALING JAYA – Some Malay­sian youths are increasingly finding themselves trapped in a cycle of debt, as mounting financial commitments such as repayment of credit cards, personal loans and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) schemes eat into the bulk of their monthly budget.

This leaves them with only a small fraction of their salary each month, resulting in anxiety and a growing worry of their long-term financial stability.

Mr Chan Jun Hong, 29, spends about RM3,000 (S$978) monthly just to pay his debts, which account for over 60 per cent of his salary.

“A good chunk of it goes into paying my personal loans which I had taken about a year or two ago.

“I took up the loans simply because I was offered, but I ended up splurging recklessly so I regret that decision now.

“It got to a point where I was really stressed out about whether I could survive the rest of the month, so I had to beg my friend to lend me some money just in case,” said Mr Chan, who works as a senior sales associate.