KUALA LUMPUR: The government and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will continue to organise educational programmes, with the assistance of government and private agencies, on financial literacy and sound financial management, as only 6% of Malaysians have sufficient savings to last six months, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz.

The data, obtained from a recent study, clearly revealed the lackadaisical attitude of Malaysians in managing their financial requirements and the need to address this problem, especially against the backdrop of rising costs.

“In order to encourage prudent savings, we will continue to promote financial literacy and sound financial management education among primary and secondary students,” he told Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Sekijang) who asked about the level of consumers’ financial management skills in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Meanwhile, Othman said the establishment of the Financial Education Network in 2016 by BNM was aimed at coordinating and driving a national financial education strategy in Malaysia.

The network will work with relevant government ministries, industry associations, consumer groups and other key stakeholders to deliver, monitor and measure financial education initiatives under a coordinated national strategy. — Bernama