KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- The Dewan Negara today passed the Hire-Purchase (Amendment) Bill 2025, aimed at enabling the use of modern technology to formalise hire-purchase agreements and make them more comprehensive in line with current practices.
The bill was approved by a majority vote following debates by 11 senators.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Datuk Dr Fuziah Salleh said the amendments to the Hire-Purchase Act 1967 (Act 212) include 22 clauses recognising digital signatures, electronic documents and digital verification methods as legally valid for hire-purchase agreements under the Digital Signature Act 1997 (Act 562).
She added that while new electronic methods, including automatic document submission, will be allowed, users who are not comfortable with these technologies may still use traditional physical procedures.
Fuziah also said the repeal of Regulation 78 for fixed-rate hire-purchase loans would benefit borrowers by calculating interest based on the outstanding loan balance, allowing them to better understand the breakdown of their monthly instalments between interest and principal.
“The savings will be greater if users choose to settle the hire-purchase contract early, as Regulation 78 previously caused higher interest payments at the start of the loan,” she said while winding up the debate on the bill in the Dewan Negara today.
The Dewan Negara session will continue tomorrow.
-- BERNAMA
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