If your monthly repayments have started to feel heavier than your income can carry, taking another loan to cover them is usually the wrong move. Malaysia has a free, government-backed alternative most people don't know they can use. Here's how it works.
What AKPK actually is
AKPK stands for Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit — the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency. It was established by Bank Negara Malaysia and operates under the framework of the Financial Services Act 2013.2 Its whole purpose is to help ordinary Malaysians handle credit and debt — for free. It is not a bank, not a debt-collector, and not a loan provider. It sits on your side of the table.
The three free services
- Financial education — talks, workshops and online modules on budgeting, borrowing and money management.
- Financial counselling — a free one-to-one session where a counsellor looks at your full income, expenses and debts and helps you build a workable plan. You can use this even if you're not in trouble yet.
- Debt Management Programme (DMP) — the structured programme for people already struggling to keep up. This is the part most people mean when they say "AKPK."
The Debt Management Programme, explained
The DMP takes all your eligible debts — credit cards, personal loans, hire purchase, and more — and restructures them into a single, affordable monthly repayment you can actually sustain. AKPK negotiates with your banks on your behalf: often a longer tenure, a lower effective rate, or waived penalties, so the monthly figure drops to something your income can carry.
- It is free — there is no fee to attend a counselling session or to enrol in the DMP.1
- AKPK does not give you new money. It reorganises what you already owe.
- You make one payment, and AKPK distributes it to your creditors.
Before you decide, it helps to see the number banks see. Run your figures through our DSR calculator — if your debt-service ratio is already past a comfortable range, that's a strong signal to talk to AKPK rather than borrow more.
What the DMP does to your CCRIS and credit — the honest version
This is the part worth being clear-eyed about. When your accounts are enrolled in the DMP, your CCRIS report shows an "RP" (Rescheduled/Restructured) status on each participating facility.2 Banks can see you're in a managed-debt arrangement.
- While you're in the programme, getting new financing is harder. AKPK has no objection to you applying, but approval is entirely at the bank's discretion after its own assessment — and most will wait until you've cleared the programme.
- After you complete the DMP, the "RP" status stops being reported, and because CCRIS only shows the most recent 12 months, it drops off your record roughly a year after your final payment.2
So the DMP is a genuine trade: short-term reduced borrowing power in exchange for a realistic path out of debt and a clean record on the other side. For someone drowning in minimum payments, that trade is almost always worth it.
Who should consider it — and who shouldn't
Consider AKPK if: you're juggling several debts, only making minimum payments, using new credit to pay old credit, or your debt-service ratio has climbed past what your income can carry. Going before you default is far better than after.
You probably don't need the DMP if: you have a single manageable debt, a temporary cash-flow gap, or you can restructure directly with your one bank. A free counselling session can confirm which camp you're in.
AKPK vs taking another loan
People often reach for a debt-consolidation loan when AKPK would serve them better. A new loan only helps if it genuinely lowers your total cost and you won't re-run the balances. If the real problem is that total repayments already exceed what you earn, another loan just resets the clock at a bigger number. AKPK restructures without adding debt — and it's free. See our CCRIS vs CTOS guide guide for how banks read your record in the first place.
How to apply
AKPK offers walk-in branches nationwide, a phone line, and an online enquiry channel. Bring your latest payslip, a list of your debts and monthly commitments, and recent statements. The first counselling session is free and carries no obligation to enrol.