Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit — AKPK — was set up by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2006 to do one thing: help individuals who can no longer manage their debt, without charging them for it. Nearly twenty years on, it's still the most under-used tool in Malaysian personal finance, mostly because people confuse it with bankruptcy or with being 'blacklisted'. It's neither.
What AKPK actually offers
Two things. Financial counselling: a session with a trained counsellor who looks at your full income, commitments and spending, and gives you a plan — you keep all your accounts, nothing goes on your file. The Debt Management Programme (DMP): AKPK negotiates with your banks on your behalf, restructures the debts into a single monthly payment you can afford, and administers it for the life of the plan.
Counselling is for anyone. The DMP is for people whose commitments genuinely exceed what they can pay at current terms — typically when total debt service is pushing past 60% of net income, or when accounts are already in arrears.
RM0
Cost to you
Counselling and DMP are free — funded by BNM
Up to 10 years
DMP tenure
Set by what your budget can bear
60%+
Debt-to-income where DMP usually makes sense
Below this, a consolidation loan may serve better
How the DMP works, step by step
- 1
Book a session
Online via AKPK's portal, at a branch, or by calling their hotline. Bring latest payslips, bank statements and every facility statement. Sessions are confidential and free.
- 2
Budget and eligibility assessment
The counsellor builds a realistic monthly budget — rent, food, transport, dependants — and calculates what's genuinely left for debt. If you can service your debts with a plan, you get counselling only. If you can't, the DMP is proposed.
- 3
AKPK negotiates with your banks
Interest is reduced or waived, late charges typically frozen, tenure extended. Each bank agrees to the restructured terms. You don't negotiate individually — that's the point.
- 4
One payment a month
You pay AKPK; AKPK distributes to the banks. Your accounts are marked in CCRIS as under an AKPK arrangement. Card accounts are closed.
- 5
Complete, or settle early
Stay on plan to the end, or settle the remaining balance early when income improves. On completion the marker is removed and your CCRIS begins reflecting normal conduct again.
The trade-off: relief now, no new credit until you're done
This is the part people need to hear plainly. While you're in the DMP, you cannot take a new loan, card or hire purchase — every lender sees the marker and declines. For someone who was juggling minimums with new borrowing, that's the whole point: the cycle stops. For someone who still needs a car loan next year, it's a real cost, and it's why the decision deserves a proper comparison rather than panic.
DMP vs a debt consolidation loan
The dividing line is ability to pay. If a single loan at a normal rate would bring your commitments inside your budget, debt consolidation keeps your file clean and your options open. If even that instalment wouldn't fit, you've crossed into DMP territory — and the sooner you go, the fewer arrears you carry in.
| AKPK DMP | Consolidation loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Can't service debt at current terms | Can service debt, but wants one cheaper payment |
| Cost | Free; interest often reduced or waived | Interest at the new loan's rate (e.g. 5%–9% p.a. flat) |
| Effect on CCRIS | AKPK marker for the programme's duration | Old facilities settled; one new facility, normal conduct |
| New credit during | Not possible | Possible, subject to DSR |
| Speed | Weeks (assessment + bank agreement) | Days (approval + settlement of old accounts) |
| Best when | Arrears already, DSR 60%+, several creditors | Clean CCRIS, DSR under ~55%, mostly card debt at 15–18% p.a. |
Three signs it's time to call AKPK, not another lender
- You're paying one card's minimum with another card, or a new loan is going straight to old instalments.
- You've been rejected for consolidation because your DSR is already past the cap — the arithmetic reason, not a conduct one.
- Any account is more than two months in arrears and you have no realistic way to bring it current.
AKPK is not the end of your financial life; it's the state-backed reset button for it. If you're on the other side of the line — able to pay, just paying too much — a Prime Credit debt consolidation rate check is a soft enquiry that shows what one payment at one rate would look like, before you commit to either path.
Quick questions
Does joining AKPK blacklist me?
No. It places a marker in CCRIS showing your facilities are under an AKPK arrangement. Lenders will not extend new credit while it's there — but the alternative, defaulting, leaves arrears and possibly legal records that last far longer. After you complete the programme, the marker is removed.
Which debts can go into the DMP?
Debts with financial institutions regulated by BNM — credit cards, personal loans, hire purchase and housing loans in arrears, and increasingly certain non-bank lenders that participate. Debts with Ah Long, family or most licensed moneylenders are outside the programme, though counsellors will still advise on them.
How much does the monthly payment drop?
It depends on what you owe and to whom. Typical outcomes are interest reductions on card debt from ~18% p.a. to a much lower or zero rate, and tenure extended to keep the total payment inside what your budget can bear. Counsellors build the plan from your actual income and expenses.
Can I apply for a loan after finishing the DMP?
Yes. Once the marker is cleared, lenders assess you on your recent conduct. Twelve on-time months of DMP payments read as good conduct; many graduates qualify for modest credit within a year of completion.
