He said calls for banks to forego interest payments and debts were not new, noting that similar proposals were being mooted in other countries as well.

Government-linked companies and institutions with shareholdings in banks, he said, had a social obligation to the people and should make sacrifices.

“We are in trying times and banks have been making large profits for years so a debt jubilee will be ideal.

“But we understand that not everyone will require a debt jubilee, so it should be targeted and done gradually.”

A debt jubilee occurs when a bank or large organisation cancels debt and clears it from the public record.

If this was not possible, banks, he said, should at least forego collecting interest payments on loans or at the very least extend the moratorium without interest.

“This would not be unreasonable, and I think it will still be fair to banks and it won’t create shocks to the system.”

The deputy youth and sports minister said the moratorium should be without any time limit for those who remained unemployed.

“The banks can collect repayments once a borrower has obtained a job,” he told FMT, adding this was among the wing’s proposal for the budget which will be presented tomorrow.

Wan Fayshal said there was a real need to alleviate the suffering of the youth, especially those who had lost their jobs.

“We (PPBM Youth) believe that the national economy must be driven by the ‘real’ economy which produces goods and services, and not the financial economy which has led to inflation.

“The ‘real’ economy is for the man on the street, not shareholders.”