KUCHING: Most Sarawakians are still unaware of the importance of wills and estate planning according to chief executive officer (CEO) of AmanahRaya Legacy Services Sdn Bhd (AmanahRaya Legacy Services) Rafie Omar in an exclusive interview with the Borneo Post yesterday.
WILLS ARE IMPORTANT: The CEO of AmanahRaya Legacy Services Rafie Omar accentuates the importance of wills and estate planning for Malaysians and Sarawak in particular.
“We only have approximately 600 customers in Kuching comprising both the Muslim and non-Muslim categories,” he said.
He further revealed that the non-Bumiputera community in Kuching only had a Probate Court as a course of action if their loved ones departed without a will specifying the distribution of assets.
As for the other districts in Sarawak, they still had to refer to the Resident’s Office in the case of such situations arising.
Thus, Rafie stressed on the importance of making wills as it would save the hassle of going through complicated procedures with regards to one’s estate.
As real estate investment trusts (REITs) were fast becoming a trend in investment, he explained that it was a viable avenue for investors.
“The maintenance costs of a building can be overwhelming at times and this is why REITS are rewarding in the sense that the costs are shared by all the shareholders and at the end of the reporting period, they will stand to gain more from the dividends that are paid out,” emphasised Rafie.
Incidentally, the parent company of AmanahRaya Legacy Services, Amanah Raya Bhd (Amanah Raya) was the trustee for Al-‘Aqar KPJ REIT, one of the foremost REIT companies in the country.
“We need to cater for more customers in Sarawak,” Rafie divulged as he spoke about the prospects of Amanah Raya’s services in the state.
Amanah Raya is currently participating in the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) 2010 being held in Kuching with the aims of explaining their products and services to the general public with their experienced staff on hand to offer assistance.
“In conjunction with the week-long MSAM 2010 event, we have an offer of only RM100 for will writing services for those customers that register at our booth; a significant reduction on the normal RM350 charge,” Rafie said.