and secondary school levels by 2021. similarly, greater attention should also be accorded to long - term financial and retirement planning from young, or when entering the workforce. there should be greater awareness on the importance of saving for the future. as most of us here represent employers throughout malaysia, i would urge that financial education and planning aspects should be embedded in our training modules, including the retirement module developed by akpk and kwsp. moving on the second focus area on – individual responsibility to take charge of its own financial decisions and well - being. the financial capability and inclusion demand side survey 2015 – also suggests that malaysians are not adequately taking charge of their own financial decisions and well - being. for example, with regard to retirement – one - in - three malaysians are very worried about their retirement. despite the worries, malaysians adopt a passive strategy for their retirement planning – such as relying mainly on the government or statutory bodies such as kwsp to fund their retirement needs. as mentioned earlier, many of kwsp ’ s contributors have insufficient funds for their retirement. this brings us to another question – what are their fall back plans? apparently, nothing concrete. the top three plans indicated in the survey are : a. first – to rely on passive savings, which may not be sustainable ; b. second – to rely on children or family members ; and 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches c. third – to always continue working. most financial decisions are influenced greatly by a person ’ s behaviour and attitude. notably, this will require behavioural change from within, which can be harder to initiate but not impossible to achieve. when equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills – an individual would acquire a positive attitude and be able to make financial decisions – rationally and responsibly, for his wellbeing in the short and long - term. the positive behavioural change includes prudent use of money and credit ; not easily influenced by emotions ; actively seeking of information for financial product comparison ; as well as making adequate provisions for old age. the third and final focus area – building financial capability and elevating financial literacy is a shared responsibility government agencies, schools, families, workplaces and the financial service industry – all play an important role in building financial capability and elevating financial literacy of our population. this is a long - haul journey and requires significant resources and perseverance by various parties. hence, inter - agency collaboration - providing various touch points at different platforms

in our economy has also been supported by increased lending by banks, including to households. for a number of advanced economies, this trend has become a source of concern. this is in view of their rising household debt that have exceeded prudent levels in the range of 80 - 100 % of gdp. household indebtedness in malaysia has, however, remained within prudent levels at 60 % of gdp. another important consideration that needs to be taken into account is the ability of households to service their debt. with rising income levels, the household sector in malaysia has continued to accumulate net financial savings as reflected in higher accumulation of deposits against accumulation in debts. household deposits, as a percentage of gdp, remains high at 67 %. strong household debt servicing capacity is also reflected in the continued improvement in non - performing loans ratio of the household sector, which declined from a peak of 12. 2 % at end - 1998 to 8. 1 % at end - november 2003. amidst low and stable inflation, the cost of financing has been kept low to promote sustained consumption and, of greater importance, to stimulate stronger investment activities. the positive effects of increasing bank lending, especially to small businesses, have been an important factor in supporting the domestic economy. as at end - november 2003, bank lending to small and medium scale enterprises expanded by 9 % year - on - year, accounting for one - third of the share of business loans. the growth of the small and medium scale enterprises is important in supporting a more balanced economic structure that will enhance malaysia's potential for economic expansion and employment. the merdeka savings bond will provide malaysians with an additional avenue and incentive for savings. for retirees who spend out of their pensions and accumulated savings, returns on their savings is an important source of income to support their consumption. the individual responsibility to have in place a sound long - term retirement income strategy, that integrates private savings, contributions to the employees provident fund and supplementary private pension and annuity plans, has therefore become important. ladies and gentlemen, this is not the first time that bank negara malaysia has issued such bonds. the second and third series of the malaysia savings bonds, which were issued in november 1999 and february 2002 respectively, had the same underlying objective. each time, the features of the bonds have been enhanced. the merdeka savings bond is for retirees who are 55 years old and above, and who do not have a full - time job. armed forces personnel who