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PETALING JAYA: All 26 commercial banks in Malaysia have decided to drop the charges for certain cash and cheque transactions for credit card and financing repayments, just two days after widespread public uproar.The charges were initially RM2 per transaction over the counter, and 50 sen for payments made using cash deposit machines and cheque deposit machines.In a statement yesterday, the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) said its member banks would stop charging the fees.Some had already begun imposing the charges while others planned to implement them soon.“Currently, certain customer segments are already waived these charges, which are disabled persons and senior citizens.“For walk-in customers, there are available free and convenient alternatives to conduct banking transactions and obtain services as provided via automated teller machines (ATMs),” it said.

ABM added that its member banks would be communicating with their customers via their respective communication touch points, including their websites, and were ready to assist their customers to familiarise themselves with these alternative channels or on any queries they might have in relation to this matter.Non-government organisations and consumer groups previously said this would have forced consumers to fork out extra to pay their loan instalments and credit card bills and would only profit the banks.Since 2015, cheques in general already have a 50 sen processing fee imposed and Bank Negara had said in 2017 that this would be increased to RM1 from January 2021 and gradually thereafter, to reflect the actual cost of cheque processing.Back in 2016, the cost incurred by banks to process a single cheque is RM4 and this is estimated to be about RM6 by next year.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram has called for the bottom 70% of the country’s population to be given greater spending power in view of the global economic outlook.Presenting the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) 2019 Trade and Development report, the former member of the Council of Eminent Persons said issues such as debt, the US-China trade war and global warming could significantly impact Malaysia’s economy.“First thing to recognise is that the world’s economic situation is very bad. The International Monetary Fund has revised its projections downwards five times already in the last one and a half years. This is quite unprecedented and many recent developments do not hint at things getting better,” he told a press conference yesterday.He said the coming budget should counter “all the downward forces in the world”, and this includes ensuring the bottom 70% can spend more.

He said Putrajaya must be “consistently counter-cyclical” and flexible when it comes to the targetted 3% budget deficit.“When times are good, you pay off your debts; when times are tough, that’s when you need to spend to compensate for the private sector spending collapse.”Jomo, who served as an assistant secretary-general in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, again called for a review of government projects that cannot contribute to economic revival.“What we need to do is to cut out on many of those wasteful projects and instead focus on making sure that if there’s going to be additional debt, it has to be contributing to additional economic capacity and growth,” he said.Jomo also said the regulation of foreign workers is important as their presence indirectly affect the wages of Malaysian workers.

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PETALING JAYA: Several banks have come under fire for charging fees when customers make loan and credit card payments with cash or cheques over the counter or through deposit machines. At least two other banks have announced they would do the same from next month.The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) says the fees are imposed to “encourage customers to move from cash to electronic payments” but consumer groups argue that this practice is unfair to those who do not do their banking via digital channels.The fee for making credit card and loan payments over the counter with cash or cheques is RM2 per transaction.A customer who pays his loan or credit card bill by using cash or cheque deposit machines is charged 50 sen each time.“We are shocked that Bank Negara is allowing this to happen.“People are already suffering from the high cost of living and it is the role of the government to reduce the burden and not increase it, ” he told The Star yesterday.Paul noted that the poor and the disadvantaged will be the ones who will be burdened.National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) secretary J. Solomon agreed that the fees would affect the lower-income group and people with special needs.

“We are not against introducing technology in the banking sector.“We are only concerned that there is an imbalance now at the expense of consumers, people with special needs and bank workers, ” he said.Solomon noted that banks have shifted from being a service-based industry to fee-based one.He pointed out that with these fees, people have to fork out extra to pay their loan instalments or credit card bills with cash or cheques.Solomon said banking services should be for everyone and not just those who are comfortable with online banking.He added that efforts to encourage the public to use online banking were perhaps a way for the banks to eventually reduce their workforce.“In the last five years, the intake of recruits in the banking sector is minimal and that is one of the reasons for unemployment among the youth, ” he said.Among the banks that are charging these fees are Affin Bank, CIMB Bank, Public Bank and Standard Chartered.AmBank and Maybank have told customers that they will start charging these fees on Oct 1.However, Maybank appears to have removed the announcement from its website.

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During the week, when the whole world was marching for change to address the climate emergency, there was outrage among Malaysians after a newspaper reported that a RM3.5 billion contract had been awarded to Tadmax Resources to develop a coal-fired power plant in Pulau Indah, Klang.The report said we don’t actually need such power plants which will also pollute the environment.Was there an open tender for this contract as promised by the energy minister? So what has changed in “New Malaysia”? And what sort of “clean new energy” is this coal-fired plant going to produce? How much haze is the Pakatan Harapan government going to contribute to our Malaysian air?

Just like the many power projects I blasted during the 1990s in Parliament (See my “Damned Dams & Noxious Nukes”, Suaram 2013), experts have questioned awarding the contract to a company with no experience in the field.As with the other independent power producers (IPPs) in the 1990s, Tadmax has apparently roped in Korean Electric Power Corp to provide the technical skills needed for the project.As the news report pointed out, we produce way more power than we’ll ever need. Our “reserve margin”, or generation capacity above peak demand, was 36% in Peninsular Malaysia.

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PUTRAJAYA 24 Sept. - Tribunal Tuntutan Pengguna Malaysia (TTPM) dijangka akan menerima lebih banyak aduan selepas Akta Perlindungan Pengguna (APP) 1999 (Pindaan) 2019 berkuat kuasa 1 Oktober ini.Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna (KPDNHEP), Datuk Muez Abd Aziz berkata, pindaan akta yang melibatkan peningkatan had nilai tuntutan itu dilihat mampu memperkasakan hak pengguna seiring peningkatan kuasa beli rakyat.Selain itu katanya, pindaan tersebut akan memastikan peranan TTPM kekal relevan ketika mendepani isu pertikaian dan tuntutan kepenggunaan yang semakin kompleks."Perkembangan ekonomi yang pesat menyebabkan harga barangan dan perkhidmatan meningkat melebihi nilai RM25,000 seperti pembelian kereta, motosikal dan pengubahsuaian rumah sekali gus menyebabkan pengguna hilang kelayakan membawa kes ke TTPM untuk diadili.

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KUALA LUMPUR 24 Sept. - Faktor pendapatan yang rata-ratanya rendah berbanding harga rumah yang tinggi antara punca ramai pembeli menangguhkan impian memiliki kediaman sendiri.Ketua Pakar Ekonomi Bank Islam Malaysia, Dr. Mohd. Afzanizam Abdul Rashid berkata, dalam menangani isu pemilikan rumah mampu milik ini, ia perlu ditangani secara perlahan-lahan dan tidak begitu drastik.Ini kerana katanya, tahap gaji dan upah tidak boleh dinaikkan sewenang-wenangnya kerana ia perlu seiring dengan tahap kemahiran dan produktiviti.Jelas beliau, selain itu, harga rumah tidak boleh turun secara mendadak kerana ini boleh menimbulkan suasana kejutan negatif kepada sistem ekonomi negara, justeru, perlu ada strategi mapan supaya ia boleh menghasilkan situasi menang-menang bagi bakal pembeli rumah, pemaju perumahan, institusi perbankan dan kerajaan secara amnya.“Dalam hal ini, menggalakkan orang ramai yang belum mampu membeli rumah untuk menyewa adalah perkara yang betul untuk dilakukan.

“Menggalakkan mereka yang belum mampu memiliki rumah untuk meminjam bagi tujuan pembelian rumah hanya boleh mengundang masalah terutama jika mereka ini tidak mampu untuk membayar ansuran pembiayaan perumahan tersebut,” katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini baru-baru ini.Semalam, data yang dikeluarkan Pusat Maklumat Harta Tanah Negara (NAPIC) mendapati bilangan kediaman tidak terjual di negara ini meningkat 1.5 peratus kepada 32,810 unit pada separuh pertama tahun ini dengan nilai RM19.76 bilion. Daripada jumlah itu, 43 peratus terdiri daripada kondominium dan apartment.Sementara itu, Ketua Penyelidik MIDF Research, Mohd. Redza Abdul Rahman berkata, tiada keperluan untuk menjual rumah terutama berharga kurang RM300,000 kepada orang luar.Sebaliknya, beliau berpendapat, penambahbaikan dari segi kemudahan di dalam kawasan perumahan itu sendiri atau penyediaan kemudahan luar perlu bagi menarik minat pembeli.

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Frasa ini memang sesuai dan tepat bila ianya berkait dengan pengurusan kewangan seseorang. Anda perlu memberi tumpuan penuh kepada pengurusan kewangan anda sekiranya anda ingin meningkat dan memperkukuhkan tahap kewangan anda.Tahap kewangan rakyat Malaysia setakat ini masih lagi rendah. Kumpulan B40 masih bertungkus lumus menjalani kehidupan, manakala kumpulan M40 pula terpaksa bersaing dengan kos hidup yang kian meningkat. Keteguhan tahap kewangan seseorang boleh diukur dengan melihat kepada penabungan, pelaburan, insurans dan pengurusan kewangan. Adakah anda seorang yang teguh dan stabil dari segi kewangan?

Menyaingi Peningkatan Kos Sara Hidup

Malaysia sedang menjalani proses perubahan dan kerajaan sedang berusaha untuk membuat pembaharuan dari segi politik, namun kos sara hidup yang kian meningkat menyukarkan pihak kerajaan untuk mengatasinya.Tiga isu yang dikaitan dengan peningkatkan harga barang adalah, pertumbuhan pendapatan yang lemah, harga kos rumah yang begitu tinggi dan nilai ringgit Malaysia yang lemah berbanding dengan mata wang negara lain. Di samping itu, kos barang makanan yang semakin meningkat serta perubahan gaya hidup turut menyumbangkan kepada peningkatkan kos sara hidup.

Ramai Rakyat Malaysia kian terlibat dalam Masalah Kewangan

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SUDAH hampir dua minggu negara dilanda jerebu. Menurut Jabatan Alam Sekitar, kebakaran hutan di Sumatera dan Kalimantan, Indonesia menyebabkan jerebu merentas sempadan dan memberi kesan kepada peningkatan bacaan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) di semua kawasan di sepanjang pantai barat Semenanjung Malaysia dan barat Sarawak.Kebakaran belukar bagi tujuan pertanian di beberapa kawasan antaranya di Johan Setia, Klang, Selangor memburukkan lagi kea­daan.Untuk rekod, bacaan IPU antara 0 hingga 50 dikategorikan baik, 51 hingga 100 (sederhana), 101 hingga 200 (tidak sihat), 210 hingga 300 (sangat tidak sihat) manakala 300 ke atas berbahaya.Ketua Perkhidmatan Oftamalogi Kementerian Kesihatan, Dr. Nor Fariza Ngah berkata, jumlah pesakit bagi kes berkaitan konjunktivitis (mata) me­ningkat 20 hingga 30 peratus di 42 hospital kerajaan seluruh negara kesan je­rebu.

Beliau menasihatkan orang ramai mengurangkan aktiviti luar rumah yang boleh memberi kesan kesihatan terutama mereka yang menghidap asma.Peningkatan IPU ini turut menjejaskan sesi persekolahan di kawasan yang terlibat apabila terpaksa ditutup bagi mengelakkan kesihatan pelajar terjejas. Antara negeri yang terlibat de­ngan penutupan sekolah ini ialah Sarawak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Sela­ngor, Pulau Pinang dan Kedah serta Putrajaya.Mengikut pekeliling Kementerian Pendidikan, sekiranya bacaan IPU melebihi 100, pihak sekolah hendaklah menghentikan semua aktiviti luar bilik darjah. Jika bacaan 200, semua sekolah yang berada dalam kawasan atau daerah hendaklah ditutup serta-merta. Jabatan pendidikan negeri di seluruh negara mempunyai kuasa mengikut prosedur operasi standard masing-ma­sing untuk mengarahkan penutupan sekolah jika kawasan mereka dilanda jerebu teruk.

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WITH reference to the recent spate of letters on the “betterment factor” in motor insurance, the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (Piam) would like to provide more information to the public.The basic premise of a motor insurance policy is to place the car owner in the same condition as he would have been in before an accident occurs. Betterment will apply when, in the course of repairing an accident-damaged vehicle, a new part is used to replace an old part.Betterment is a portion of the cost car owners have to bear when a damaged vehicle part is replaced with a brand new original part. As the car will be in a better condition compared to prior to the accident, the insurance company will require the car owner to bear the difference in costs. This is based on a scale of betterment adopted by the insurance industry as shown in the table.Consumers have the option to purchase new add-on insurance cover such as “waiver of betterment” or request for second-hand parts to avoid betterment charges.

The items that are subjected to depreciation are generally communicated to the owner. This is the practice in Malaysia. Other countries may have their own rules in their respective jurisdictions.The liberalisation of motor insurance in Malaysia started in July 2016. The general insurance industry is moving towards full liberalisation in phases, with many new and innovative products being launched to meet the evolving needs of consumers. A total of 66 new motor products have been launched in the market so far.We advise consumers to shop around for the cover that best suits their needs and budget. Policy holders are advised to read the terms and conditions of their motor policy carefully so that they are fully aware of their insurance cover and what they are entitled to claim in the event of an accident.

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LETTER | The Ministry of Health claims it is committed to universal health coverage. According to the World Health Organisation, universal health coverage means the role of a government to provide healthcare and financial protection for its citizens.Further it means that all people have access to the quality health services they need, when they need and where they need, without financial hardship. Universal Health Care encompasses access of healthcare for all Malaysians.Yet, the MySalam Scheme which aims to “provide national health protection for B40 individuals under the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) has two serious exclusions. This Scheme is for the B40, the bottom 40, yet two significant groups of people who are under this group do not qualify for the benefits of the MySalam Scheme.Firstly, the B40 consumer should not be diagnosed for the disease before Jan 1, 2019. Thus if he has been suffering for many years, he will be excluded. Only those who are diagnosed after Jan 1, 2019, are allowed to benefit from the MySalam.
Advertisement. Secondly, the scheme is only for those aged between 18 and 55. Thus, if the B40 consumer is above the age of 55, he would be excluded. It cannot be denied that the older we get, the more we are prone to various diseases and health problems. Yet, the sick who are also poor, over the age of 55 are excluded.In summary, the person to qualify for MySalam must be diagnosed after Jan 1, 2019. Previous diseases are excluded. The person must be less than 55 years. Older patients are excluded.This would typically be a scheme run by insurance companies, where there is a critical consideration of the “risk” of the individual. Those who already have pre-conditions are excluded. Those considered “high” risk either because of age or other factors pay higher premiums or are excluded completely.

Thus, the insurance company provides coverage only for those of “low risk”. High risk consumers are penalised or excluded. This way the company can minimise paying for claims and maximise shareholder value. This is the modus operandi for a company for which the primary objectives are profits and maximising shareholder value.The government does not act in a manner to maximise profits, rather it acts to maximise services and well-being of the rakyat. Or at the very least, that is what it should be doing.Unfortunately, our government is acting as an insurance company – excluding those who need help the most and those who are aged. The Ministry of Health is certainly not practising Universal Health Coverage.The MySalam website indicates that the MySalam Scheme is managed by an insurance company. Thus, it is certainly not surprising that their typical exclusion policies of an insurance company are being implemented in MySalam, although the scheme is targeted to help the poor.

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