KUALA LUMPUR: Banks in Malaysia have given in to mass appeal not to impose accrued charges on hire-purchase (HP) financing, both conventional and Shariah.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz today said the banking sector had agreed to waive the accrued interest.
This would apply to both conventional and shariah loans, he said in a statement.
"An agreement has been reached that the amount of monthly instalments for the hire-purchase loans (for both conventional and shariah financing) will not be changed throughout the loan tenure.
"This means that there will be no additional charges during the (six-month) moratorium. The government hopes this decision will ease the burden of the people during this challenging time," Tengku Zafrul said.
He said borrowers would need to continue with their repayments based on the terms of the agreement with their respective banks.
This includes an additional six months for the entire financing schedule if borrowers choose to accept the moratorium.
"Further information is available from borrowers' respective banks," he added.
Tengku Zafrul previously urged banks to consider abolishing the accrued interest on such loans during the six-month moratorium on repayments in the wake of public concerns over the matter.