After a long time staying at home, I finally got to go to out again.
I saw a lot of people queuing up at the local Kedai Pajak (Pawn) shop. Pawn shop is a place where people can place their valuables (jewelry, gold silver etc) with the shop in exchange for cold hard cash. The valuables place at the shop can be purchased back and the price will depend on the profit rate the shop wants to charge.
This scene is quite common these few weeks after the movement control order (mco) in Malaysia was loosen up. Apparently the people are there not to pawn off their jewelry but to renew the lease on their jewelry.
How pawn shops in Malaysia works is that they will take your jewellery or valuables and then give you a sum of money. they will also issue a pawn shop statement to say that if the owner does not come to buy back the jewellery or renew the statement, the pawn shop will sell/auction off the person’s jewellery and valuables.
For normal loans, banks allow 6 months payment deferment while for such pawn shop services, there is no such deferment so people are rushing off to renew their valuables lease (in the form of the statement from the pawn shop).
If possible, do not engage in pawn broking activities as it can also be recorded in CCRIS and banks are generally not in favor of lending to people who are pawning their valuables for money.