If you are in a deep financial hole, you could choose to declare bankruptcy instead of choosing to commit suicide, said the head of Counselling and Debt Management Agency. “At a stage when you are against the wall, bankruptcy is an option. Do not give up or take your own life,” said the agency’s chief executive officer, Mohamed Akwal Sultan.

He said being declared a bankrupt would allow a person to get debtors off his back. Mohamed Akwal: ‘The advantage is that your debtors will stop hassling you “Then once you are in a better financial position, you can discharge yourself and come up with proposals with the debtors to repay the debts. You can even negotiate to get a discount,” he said in an interview. However, the drawbacks in being a bankrupt included not being able to take out loans and the need to ask permission to travel abroad, he said. “But the advantage is that your debtors will stop hassling you.” The agency is a subsidiary of Bank Negara, set up last year to counsel and educate people on managing their money and debts. The service is free of charge. It has offices in Penang, Johor Baru, Terengganu, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and here.

Mohamed Akwal said that, to date, more than 25,000 customers had sought the services of the agency, and over 3,500 have been helped through its debt management programme. Related Stories: War on Ah Long