Amir Hamzah Azizan (left) is on the Cabinet list announced by Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Picture for illustration only/Shutterstock
Question from Mr. Muaz:
To the editors of GC,
Muaz here. Can I suggest to include more on financial empowerment articles like a direct guide or review of the belanjawan 2024, the Bank Negara iTEKAD scheme for low-income entrepreneurs, and the MySALAM scheme. Maybe an independent review on EPF's iSayang Programme where working wives will also have the luxury to allocate 2% of their monthly EPF contributions to their husbands' EPF accounts. I believe there is also a loophole in the iSayang Programme esp for husbands who are now solo like myself. I just divorced a year ago but my former wife is still receiving 2% from my EPF which I need to head to EPF soon to immediately cancel. I was under the impression that once I had updated my profile as a single person with JPN and Jabatan Agama, it would have reflected into the EPF system but it didn't. This could be something that is worth highlighting if you are doing a comprehensive review on iSayang. I am currently planning to maximize my investment by allocating a certain percentage of my EPF contribution toward my Private Retirement Scheme. Currently my company's EPF contribution is 18% and I plan to allocate maybe 10% of that into my PRS. But I don't know if this is a good investment or should I just stick everything into my EPF account? You can also explore some articles about stocks too as I reckon many men out there want to learn how to make money with stocks but they don't know how to start. I have seen some of your videos with Faizul Ridzuan to improve our financial conditions and also with former Minister Syed Saddiq which is amazing. I think you should have continued doing these interviews rather than stopping them completely. May I suggest an interview with Warren Buffet / Elon Musk or even Donald Trump (he's still a successful businessman despite his controversial style of leadership) on how they were able to invest their money to become who they are today? You feature a lot about the Brunei Royal family in your articles, perhaps an interview with how the Sultan was able to amass so much money from Brunei's oil and gas reserves? It would be highly interesting to hear the Sultan's views on this if you are able to set an interview with him. Why did I randomly pick these elites is because we seem to have something in common - strive to make passive income and just like me, they all have experienced divorce in one way or another. I also think a write up on financial empowerment with some comprehensive review on various investment schemes would benefit many men out there who are going into financial depression, especially those inheriting debts. I came into a marriage by inheriting a bad debt from my former wife. She had student debt, credit card debt. She even took a personal loan to settle her credit card debt which was still unsettled! She even has a house and car debts which were overdue. She was very poor in managing her debts. She ignored completely from paying her student debt until the loan agent sent us a warning letter. I totally did not expect to be carrying such bad debts on my shoulder the minute I got married to her. She didn't know me well enough that I get anxiety attacks when I see too many loans on my head. I became agitated, I became restless and things spiralled out into one hellhole. I don't want to dwell too much on this, but 2 years was enough with her, showed her the middle finger and filed for divorce. To be put in bluntly, I would be bankrupt if I had stayed in the marriage. If you are getting married, ask your future spouse and list down what debts you would inherit. If it's going to take a toll on you, check with her if she can pay it off herself otherwise leave. It is not worth it. Don't go bankrupt just because you want to be a gentleman. She should also understand your limitations. If she expects you to pay everything, then she should be marrying someone the equivalent of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. A food for thought. Thank you.
