PETALING JAYA: Khathirah Halim and Raina Naura Abdullah both have respectable jobs but are serial borrowers of money because they can’t survive on their salaries.
They use up what they earn before the end of the month and have to take loans from friends to make ends meet.
They belong to a growing army of poor urbanites.
Khathirah, 25, is a university graduate. She earns RM2,000 a month as a customer service assistant with a company located in Penang.
“Once I receive my salary, the first thing I do is settle my bills, which come to around RM200,” she told FMT. “Then I set aside about RM550 for petrol and meals. There are several other commitments, such as my PTPTN loan, my car, insurance and so on.”
She said she would use up 80% of her salary within 10 days or less of receiving it. As the month draws to a close, she finds she has to borrow from friends, usually about RM150. She settles the debt after getting her next salary. And the cycle continues.
Raina, 25, works as a nurse at a hospital in Ipoh and earns RM1,800 a month. By the time she pays her car loan instalment and her rent and utility bills, more than half her salary is gone.
“I only have a few hundred left for petrol, meals and other expenses. So I borrow money from my friends, usually around RM200. And I will try to pay back once I get my next salary.”
She tries to earn some extra cash by helping out at a friend’s burger stall. “I can earn about RM80 per night. I help her once in a while, when I have free time.”
According to a survey conducted by the Debt Management and Counselling Agency (AKPK), three out of 10 working adults borrowed money to buy essential goods in the past six months.
AKPK also found that one out of five working adults did not manage to save money in the last six months.
Klang MP Charles Santiago told FMT the survey results did not surprise him as there had been similar findings before.
“We have a looming urban poverty problem in the country,” he said, adding that it would be impossible for most Malaysians to survive on RM2,000 per month, especially in urban areas.
He urged the government to work out ways to solve the problem, such as creating earning capacities among the poor through training.
But he also said some Malaysians were unable to make ends meet because they were not prudent in their spending.
Financial planning consultant Robert Foo agreed. “When you have RM2,000 but you want to spend RM3,000, you create a problem,” he said.
Asked what he thought would be an adequate salary for an urban dweller, he said: “There is no magic amount. It depends on the individual and his expectations. There are people who earn more than RM5,000 a month and still find it’s not enough.”
He said people must match their goals with their incomes. - FMT
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