The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has urged civil servants to adopt preventive measures such as financial awareness, stricter controls on loans and financial literacy to prevent bankruptcies.

This follows concerns over rising debt among civil servants as 106 of them faced disciplinary action as of 2023 for bankruptcy due to excessive borrowings which is beginning to become a growing scourge in the public sector.

Cuepacs stated that civil servants should practise better budgetary planning, participate in financial literacy programmes and seek professional advice from certified financial planners before taking on long term monetary obligations.

Data from the Insolvency Department showed that between 2020 and September 2024, 3602 civil servants were declared bankrupt, making up 14 percent of all new cases and showing an increase from 12 percent in 2020.

Cuepacs clarified that for civil servants there was a ceiling that limits debt commitments to 40 percent of net income which is designed to prevent civil servants from facing financial distress but it also depended on a number of varying factors.

These included the prevailing cost of living, number of dependents and the incurrence of unexpected expenses, but in many cases, even with compliance, civil servants struggle financially due to unaccounted expenses.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE