The warning and advice given by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) to civil servants on borrowing from Ah Longs (unlicensed money lenders) does not make sense. It is a typical case of missing the forest for the trees. Don’t ever imply that civil servants have no choice but to borrow from Ah Longs.
Cuepacs must first ask these basic questions: Why are civil servants such a special group that they borrow like there’s no tomorrow, first from the government, then from cooperatives and banks and now from Ah Longs? Are they the only ones with low incomes who are not able to live affordably? Have they looked at non-government servants who earn meagre wages but manage to survive without the need to endlessly borrow?
Civil servants are indeed a privileged group in this country, make no mistake about it. They have secured employment and their salaries are paid into their bank accounts every 24th of the month without fail.
The government extends them housing, car and computer loans the moment they qualify. Some are offered quarters at very affordable rent.
However after exhausting the loans from the government, civil servants are then encouraged to take all kinds of personal loans from cooperatives. The cooperatives, working with banks, extend the loans generously to them knowing that repayment is assured through monthly salary deductions. Most of these loans are wasted on unnecessary purchases and consumption to support a lifestyle that is unrealistic to their income level. Trust me, I have seen enough of this to know what I’m talking about.
Now due to stricter rulings on bank loans, civil servants are resorting to Ah Longs to continue financing their wayward lifestyles, a move that will only lead to more problems. When are civil servants going to realise that loans are income?
What kind of lifestyles are they leading (even with full time employment) when they have to constantly borrow to sustain it? Obviously it is either the case of their income being too small or their expenditure being too big. If they cannot change their lifestyles, then they have to seek higher-income jobs. No amount of borrowing from other sources is going to solve the income gap problem. In fact, resorting to more borrowing will only make the problem worse.
The salaries of government servants in general are not really that low when compared to those in the private sector or foreign workers. Cuepacs should stop making up pathetic stories about the plight of government servants as if this group of employees are really in dire straits.
Like all Malaysians, civil servants must learn to live within their means. They cannot continue to borrow money, thinking that their secured employment and future income will bail them out.
As for Ah Longs and other loan sharks, it is time they realised that the ability of government servants to borrow is not limitless. They should lend with their eyes wide open and government servants should borrow with their eyes open even wider. Are these people thinking that the Treasury will come to bail them out someday?
Seriously, if government servants cannot take care of their personal finances, how are they going to look after the finances of the government.
TK Chua is an FMT reader.
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