BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

FAMILIES were urged to gain financial literacy and increase their basic knowledge in financing to avoid running up excessive debt which can lead to poverty in the long run.

Deputy managing director of the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) Hjh Lily Hj Kula said this during the opening ceremony of the Islamic Financial Literacy Workshop yesterday.

The workshop was held to commemorate this year’s National Family Day and the 30th anniversary of the Council of Women of Brunei Darussalam (CWBD).

“With the rapid change of financial conditions, several financial products and services are becoming more advanced and complex, therefore the public must acquire basic knowledge in finance to understand the risks and rewards that comes with each product and service offered to avoid financial burden in the future,” she said.

Hjh Lily said results of a recent study conducted by AMBD, in cooperation with the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS), on 1,521 households showed that 34 per cent did not have plans for household expenditures, 49 per cent did not have active savings, 24 per cent needed loans to fund their daily necessities while 32 per cent did not know the interest rate imposed on them on their respective outstanding credit cards.

Also present at yesterday’s event was CWBD President Pg Datin Paduka Hjh Mariam Pg Hj Matarsat.

In her speech, Pg Datin Paduka Hjh Mariam highlighted the importance of Islamic financial literacy and how the council has been active in both national and international events.

The council – an umbrella organisation comprising 13 women’s associations in the Sultanate with more than 2,000 members to date – played an important role in organising the ASEAN Civil Society Conference and the ASEAN People’s Forum in 2013, which was attended by 500 related professionals from around the region.

“CWBD is committed to working with international organisations, especially non-government organisations at the regional and international level in addressing the issues relating to women and families,” she said.

Pg Datin Paduka Hjh Mariam expressed hopes that the talk will not only benefit its participants with knowledge on Financial Literacy but on Islamic Financial Literacy as well.

The opening ceremony also saw the presentation of a keynote speech entitled “Enhancing Islamic Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion: Issues and Challenges” by Dr Muhamed Zulkhibri, a Senior Economist from Institut Penyelidikan dan Latihan Islam (IRTI), Bank Pembangunan Islam (IDB), Jeddah.

The Brunei Times