KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 (Bernama) — The majority of Malaysians have accepted that COVID-19 is here to stay for at least another year or longer, as people in the country place greater focus on their financial planning amid pandemic-related worries, says new research from Manulife.
Among those in Malaysia surveyed as part of Manulife’s Asia Care Survey,1 three in four (75%) people think it will last another year at least, with an additional 25% saying it will never end. Malaysians also express concern that the local economy will take a long time to recover. Nearly half (46%) say their income has fallen, with more than one in ten (13%) mentioning they lost their jobs because of COVID-19. To cope with the pandemic, around half (44%) say they are more actively managing their finances, which includes cutting back on unnecessary or big-ticket expenses (35%), investing (17%), and tracking income and expenses regularly (13%).