A recent survey conducted by the Financial Education Network (FEN) showed that 84 per cent of Malaysians do not have regular savings every month.
FEN joint chairman and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) financial inclusion department director Nor Rafidz Nazri, highlighted the pressing issue during the unveiling of the survey results.
According to the survey, 27 per cent of Malaysians expressed significant concern about their capacity to cover living expenses upon retirement.
Nazri said: "The level of financial literacy among Malaysians is still low. The study found that 69 per cent prefer spending over saving, leading to a lack of savings for emergencies. Moreover, 47 per cent admitted to having difficulty setting aside RM1,000 for emergencies."
A report in Berita Harian further highlighted that only 20 per cent of employed adults in Malaysia can sustain their living expenses for a minimum of three months in the event of income loss due to insufficient emergency funds.
In response to this financial crisis, REV Media Group launched the Cakna Duit financial literacy campaign to empower Malaysians with essential financial knowledge.
The campaign, running from January to March, aims to raise awareness about financial matters, covering topics such as crypto, financial budget planning, improving credit scores and more.
REV Media Group head of Malay network Noraniza Azmi said: "January is the best time to start this campaign, aligning with the mission for financial literacy in 2024. We hope many will become more aware of financial management through the Cakna Duit campaign."
The Cakna Duit campaign will be carried out on The Vocket, which is a digital media platform that showcases the latest news and stories about travel, technology, fashion and creativity.
The campaign will feature distinguished experts casually discussing various financial management topics on social media platforms.
In one of the January episodes of Vocket's VOCCAST podcast series, the editorial team will have a chat with Aznah Abas, a credit card enthusiast. The conversation will focus on exchanging opinions and rectifying public misconceptions surrounding credit cards.
The Vocket chief editor Azam Anwar shared: "We will produce video reviews of financial applications that can be downloaded for free. To gain the perspective of Malaysians, we also plan to randomly interview the public about financial topics and summarise them in several short 'Voxpop' videos. Certainly, there will also be financial tips shared by experts and business owners in the form of articles."
The main goal of the Cakna Duit campaign is to attract Malaysians, especially the younger generation, to proactively plan their finances for a secure future.
Learn more about The Vocket's Cakna Duit campaign here.