JOHOR BAHRU, April 23 — Malaysia recorded a total of 31,517 bankruptcy cases from 2021 to March 2026, with nearly half of them stemming from personal loans.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the official data shows that 14,582 cases, or 46 per cent, were categorised as bankruptcies due to personal debt pressures.
Approximately 4,704 cases, or 15 per cent of the total, involved individuals aged 34 years and below.
“The data highlights the importance of awareness about financial management and financial literacy from an early stage, especially among young families in planning their financial commitments based on their respective capabilities,” he said.
Akmal was speaking at a media conference during the Second Chance Policy Programme: Fast Track Discharge organised by the Johor Insolvency Department at the Temenggong Ibrahim Teachers’ Training Institute today.
He added that the government is currently focusing efforts on providing a “second chance” to four target groups: single parents, micro-business operators, victims of financial scams, and victims of abandoned housing projects.
“This policy allows those affected to restart their lives and reorganise their finances. For example, some individuals become bankrupt not solely due to poor financial management, but because of misfortunes such as purchasing homes that were never completed while still having to bear the debt burden,” Akmal said.
The minister noted that the government has also enhanced the bankruptcy discharge criteria by raising the debt threshold from RM50,000 to RM200,000, giving affected individuals a greater opportunity to exit bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, he said the inflation rate for the first quarter of 2026 stood at 1.6 per cent.
In March, inflation rose slightly to 1.7 per cent from 1.4 per cent in February, mainly driven by the transport sector and fuel costs.
