RM6.5b waiting to be claimed
> Guan Eng urges owners to file for refund
KUALA LUMPUR: Unclaimed monies amounting to RM9.974 billion from various entities had been submitted to the Accountant-General’s Department as of Oct 31, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Of the amount, RM1.875 billion had been refunded and RM1.6 billion had been credited to offset against taxable income as the money had not been claimed within 15 years, he said.
“Therefore, the current balance in the unclaimed monies trust account stands at RM6.495 billion,” the minister said in winding up the debate on the 2019 Budget at committee stage on behalf of his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.
Lim said individuals who want to make a claim must submit several documents, including a copy of MyKad and an application for refund, while for deceased individuals, applications can be made by their next of kin by submitting a letter of administration to the estate.
Asked by Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim (BN-Arau) whether notices were given to individuals on the unclaimed monies, Lim said he was informed that notices were sent out but there were constraints such as when the address registered with the National Registration Department differed from the actual place of residence.
“On behalf of my ministry, I urge owners of unclaimed money to claim their funds, as they are able to do so if the period does not exceed 15 years,” he added.
In another development, Lim said eight government-linked companies that recorded losses for five consecutive years would not be closed down.
Among them were Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, Halal Industry Development Corp, Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd, Inno Bio Ventures
Sdn Bhd, Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation Sdn Bhd, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd, he added.
On another matter, Lim said the household debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio fell slightly to 83.2% as at endSeptember 2018 from 83.8% at end-2017.
He said a large portion of the household debt catered to asset accumulation such as buying residential properties (52.8%) and non-residential properties (6.8%), as well as investment saving funds (5.7%).
He said most individual borrowers boasted a prudent debt level, while the overall Debt Service Ratio (DSR) of accumulated financing was at 32%.
“However, there are still lending segments which have a weak financial position, that is 6.5% of the total borrowers with negative financial margin. – Bernama