The Star 31 January 2009, N21; Ministry to Advise Families.
The intention, ideals and aim of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to develop a financial planning program is commendable and has been way overdue. Previous administrations were never serious in tackling this issue and most of them were just left on paper and forgotten in time.
However what Dr. Ng Yen Yen should realize is information, data and research done by BANKS are not necessarily reflective of the actual situation. These commercial corporate institutions will and shall provide biased findings and even assumptions. They may not be able to define the scope, indicators and what more the methodology appropriate for this issue, which i must remind, is a social issue. the basic subunit of a country is the family unit. How can one give the responsibility to educate family financial planning to a commercial/profit oriented financial institution? why not just ask Ah Longs to give advice? However, Bank Negara's AKPK, the Ministry can learn from their experiences (AKPK uses the term borrowers and potential borrowers first, Malaysians comes second by the way).
If sincerity is to be seen for this planned financial planning program, the Ministry should consult Universities with a strong social research background (especially on consumerism, home economics & financial planning), consumer associations & other related bodies/institutes/NGO's and lastly Institut Sosial Negara (only God knows what they are doing over there) which may understand this issue more thoroughly. It has been an unspoken tradition that most research done by the government on social issues are laughed at by the academics. the main reason because of selection of the wrong expertise and secondly biased selection of data interpretation & statistics presented to the masses.
the education system should also play a part. support publications of financial planning books/booklets/pamphlets, if necessary in each level of study... primary, secondary and the most critical; tertiary education students. it is at the tertiary level where some believe that an individuals spending and saving habit evolve and mature. to get more serious, include a compulsory subject about it for all students. maybe a 2-3 hour lecture. imagine what a 2-3 hour on family financial planning lecture could do for those thousands of young Malaysians and to-be adults which will face financial turmoil sooner or later.
also cooperate with religious bodies. they have a far more down to earth reach thru Masjids, suraus, churches and religious functions. since religion is so deeprooted in society, it is only logical to utilize it to spread the message of good family financial planning. maybe include a talk for pre-marital courses.
these are just some ideas from a fellow Malaysian which i am sure the government has thought of. why wait? Act!
However what Dr. Ng Yen Yen should realize is information, data and research done by BANKS are not necessarily reflective of the actual situation. These commercial corporate institutions will and shall provide biased findings and even assumptions. They may not be able to define the scope, indicators and what more the methodology appropriate for this issue, which i must remind, is a social issue. the basic subunit of a country is the family unit. How can one give the responsibility to educate family financial planning to a commercial/profit oriented financial institution? why not just ask Ah Longs to give advice? However, Bank Negara's AKPK, the Ministry can learn from their experiences (AKPK uses the term borrowers and potential borrowers first, Malaysians comes second by the way).
If sincerity is to be seen for this planned financial planning program, the Ministry should consult Universities with a strong social research background (especially on consumerism, home economics & financial planning), consumer associations & other related bodies/institutes/NGO's and lastly Institut Sosial Negara (only God knows what they are doing over there) which may understand this issue more thoroughly. It has been an unspoken tradition that most research done by the government on social issues are laughed at by the academics. the main reason because of selection of the wrong expertise and secondly biased selection of data interpretation & statistics presented to the masses.
the education system should also play a part. support publications of financial planning books/booklets/pamphlets, if necessary in each level of study... primary, secondary and the most critical; tertiary education students. it is at the tertiary level where some believe that an individuals spending and saving habit evolve and mature. to get more serious, include a compulsory subject about it for all students. maybe a 2-3 hour lecture. imagine what a 2-3 hour on family financial planning lecture could do for those thousands of young Malaysians and to-be adults which will face financial turmoil sooner or later.
also cooperate with religious bodies. they have a far more down to earth reach thru Masjids, suraus, churches and religious functions. since religion is so deeprooted in society, it is only logical to utilize it to spread the message of good family financial planning. maybe include a talk for pre-marital courses.
these are just some ideas from a fellow Malaysian which i am sure the government has thought of. why wait? Act!
posted by dunsuntutmybuntut @ 9:33 PM
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