For Years, The Answer Was “Permanent Staff Only.” Not Any More.
Co-opbank Pertama has opened its Lestari personal financing to contract staff in government, statutory bodies and GLCs. Here is exactly what they want from you, and what you get for it.
Table of Contents
Let’s start with the thing nobody says out loud.
If you work on contract for the government, you do the same job as the person at the next desk. Same hours. Same boss. Same queue at the canteen. Quite often you have been there longer than they have.
But walk into a bank and ask about personal financing, and one word on your payslip changes everything.
Contract.
The officer’s face does a small, polite thing. The brochure goes back in the drawer. “Perhaps when you are confirmed, encik.”
After the second or third time, most people stop asking.
So here is the news, and it is worth reading slowly. Co-opbank Pertama, the cooperative bank that has been doing salary-deduction financing for civil servants for longer than most of us have been working, has decided that a contract is a job too. The package is called Personal Financing-i Lestari (Public – Contract Staff). And you apply for it through iMoney.
It is not for everyone. It is not pretending to be. But if you fit, it is one of the few doors that has ever been opened for you on purpose.
What you actually get
No adjectives. Just the numbers, with the asterisks where CBP puts them.
- Financing up to RM200,000*
- A fixed profit rate from 3.45% a year*
- A tenure of anything from 12 months to 10 years
- Repayment taken from your salary through Angkasa (BPA), so there is nothing to remember on the 1st of the month
- Approval in as little as five hours when your file is complete*
- Shariah-compliant, under the Tawarruq concept
The asterisks mean “subject to terms and conditions,” which in plain language means: the rate and the amount you are offered depend on your salary, how much deduction your payslip can carry, and what your credit record says about you. Nobody gets the headline number by default. Nobody ever does, at any bank.
The 5 things they want from you
This is a contract-staff package, so CBP is looking at how solid your contract is and how you have handled money before. Five checks. Be honest with yourself on each one, because the bank will be.
1. You earn at least RM2,000 a month, gross. Before deductions. If your basic is RM1,900 and allowances take you over, ask your iMoney advisor; the answer depends on how your payslip is structured.
2. You work for the right kind of employer. Federal Government. State Government. Agencies, statutory bodies, boards and commissions. Municipal councils and local authorities (PBT). Wholly government-owned companies (GLC). Wholly state-owned companies (GLC Negeri). If your employer is a private company with a government contract, that is not the same thing, and this package is not for you.
3. You have at least 12 months left on your contract. This is the one that catches people. If you are on an annual contract and you are already seven months in, you have five months left, and the answer is not yet. Wait for the renewal letter, then apply. Timing is everything here, and the best time is the week after your contract is renewed.
4. You already have a CCRIS record, and it has been clean for 12 months. Two parts to this. First, you must have borrowed before: a credit card, a car loan, a PTPTN, anything that shows up on CCRIS. If you have never borrowed, there is nothing for the bank to read, and this package is not for you yet. Second, that record must show no arrears, no missed instalments, for the past 12 months. One late credit card payment eight months ago counts. You can check your own record free on BNM’s eCCRIS before you apply, and you should.
5. Your employer will write you a letter. It needs to confirm two things: how long your contract runs, and that your repayments can be deducted through Angkasa (BPA). Your HR or payroll office has done this before. Ask early. It is the document that most often arrives last.
One more thing on tenure. The minimum is 12 months. The maximum is 10 years on paper, but in practice your financing has to fit inside the time your employer can deduct from your salary. A two-year contract will not carry a five-year tenure. Your advisor will work out what fits.
How to apply, and why through iMoney
You could walk into a CBP branch. People do. But the reason most applications take weeks is not the bank. It is the file: one payslip short, a letter worded wrongly, a bank statement that does not show the salary credit. The counter cannot fix that. It can only send you home.
iMoney’s job is to make sure that does not happen. An advisor checks your eligibility before you apply, tells you which of the five checks you are weak on, and sends CBP a file that is complete the first time. That is the whole trick behind “approval in five hours.” It is not magic. It is a tidy file.
And it costs you nothing. iMoney is paid by the bank when a financing is approved, not by you. There is no fee, no mark-up on the rate, and no obligation if you change your mind.
What to have ready
- MyKad, front and back
- Your latest three months’ payslips
- Your latest three months’ bank statements, showing the salary coming in
- Your employment contract or offer letter, showing the contract dates
- The employer’s letter confirming contract duration and Angkasa (BPA) deduction
- Your latest EA Form, if you have one
What happens next
- Check your eligibility on iMoney. Two minutes, and you will know where you stand.
- Fill in the application form online. About five minutes.
- Upload the documents above.
- An iMoney advisor reviews the file and submits it to CBP.
- CBP assesses and, if your file is complete, you could have an answer the same working day*.
- Sign the financing agreement. Funds are credited to your account, and repayment starts from your next salary through Angkasa (BPA).
If you want to see what a given amount would cost you each month before you apply, iMoney’s Islamic personal financing calculator will do the arithmetic. And if you are carrying a few smaller debts and wondering whether to fold them into one, the debt consolidation calculator will tell you whether that is a good idea or an expensive one.
The word on your payslip
Nothing about your job has changed. You will still be on contract next month. You will still be doing the same work as the person at the next desk.
What has changed is what that word means to a bank. For a long time it meant no. Now, if you meet five checks, it means yes.
That is worth two minutes of your time to find out.
Check your eligibility for CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari on iMoney
*Subject to Co-opbank Pertama’s terms and conditions, credit assessment and approval. Financing amount, profit rate and approval time are as advertised by Co-opbank Pertama at the time of writing and may change without notice. This article is for general information and is not financial advice.
FAQ
Yes. CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari (Public – Contract Staff) is open to contract employees of the Federal Government, State Governments, agencies, statutory bodies, boards and commissions, municipal councils (PBT), wholly government-owned companies (GLC) and wholly state-owned companies (GLC Negeri). Applications are accepted through iMoney, subject to CBP’s terms and conditions.
The minimum gross monthly salary for CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari (Contract Staff) is RM2,000. Gross means before deductions. Applicants near the threshold should check with an iMoney advisor, because how basic pay and allowances are shown on the payslip can affect the assessment.
You must have at least 12 months remaining on your current employment contract when you apply for CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari (Contract Staff). If fewer than 12 months remain, wait until your contract is renewed or extended, then apply through iMoney with the renewal letter included.
Co-opbank Pertama advertises Personal Financing-i Lestari with financing of up to RM200,000 and a fixed profit rate from as low as 3.45% per annum, subject to terms and conditions. The amount and rate you are offered depend on your salary, Angkasa (BPA) deduction capacity and credit assessment. Use iMoney’s Islamic personal financing calculator to estimate monthly instalments.
Yes. CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari (Contract Staff) is only available to customers with an existing CCRIS record, and the record must show no arrears for the past 12 months. First-time borrowers with no credit history are not eligible under this package. You can check your record free on Bank Negara Malaysia’s eCCRIS portal before applying via iMoney.
You need a copy of your MyKad, your latest three months’ payslips and bank statements, your employment contract or offer letter showing the contract period, and an employer’s supporting letter confirming the contract duration and that repayment can be deducted via Angkasa Cooperative Services Bureau (BPA). iMoney advisors check the file before it is submitted to CBP.
CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari is repaid by automatic salary deduction through Angkasa Cooperative Services Bureau (BPA). Your employer processes the deduction each month, so no manual transfer is needed. For contract staff, the financing tenure runs from a minimum of 12 months up to 10 years, but must fit within your contract period.
Co-opbank Pertama advertises approval in as fast as five hours for complete applications, subject to terms and conditions. In practice, approval speed depends on whether every document, especially the employer’s Angkasa (BPA) letter, is included at submission. Applying through iMoney means an advisor checks the file is complete before it reaches CBP.
Yes. CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari is an Islamic personal financing product structured under the Tawarruq concept, offered by Co-opbank Pertama (formerly Bank Persatuan), a cooperative bank regulated under the Co-operative Societies Act. The contract-staff package (Public – Contract Staff) follows the same Shariah structure.
No. Applying for CBP Personal Financing-i Lestari through iMoney is free for the applicant. iMoney is paid by the bank on approved financing, not by you. You pay only Co-opbank Pertama’s standard fees and charges as set out in the financing agreement.
