Some 50,000 bankrupt individuals will be released due to amendments made to the Insolvency Department’s Insolvency Act 1967. Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said revealed that the plan was to release at least 10,000 bankrupts yearly over the next five years.
Based on department statistics, a total of 20,036 individuals were made bankrupts between 2013 and August 2017 and of this number 1,109 bankrupts were below 25 years old. The average age of some 20,000 bankrupts were between 25 and 34.
Due to these alarming statistics, 67 types of amendments were made to the Insolvency Act 1967, and the goal to release 50,000 bankrupt individuals over the next five years was to ensure that they return to society and contribute to the country.
The core changes to the Act included voluntary arrangements to enable the debtor and creditor to discuss matters before bringing it to court, automatically releasing bankrupts within three years and that social guarantors cannot be declared bankrupt. The minimum sum to be declared bankrupt has also been raised from RM30,000 to RM50,000.
