Special committee to address loan sharks woes needed urgently - PPIM

A special committee to address the issue of unlicensed money lenders or ''ah long'' (loan sharks) needed to be formed urgently, said Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) head activist Datuk Nadzim Johan.

He said the committee would record all cases related to loan sharks to enable the authorities such as the Inland Revenue Board to take appropriate action.

"Records such as the name and identity card number of loan sharks can be traced by the Inland Revenue Board for tax reference while the authorities can also use the same record for law enforcement purposes if they are found guilty of the offences," he said in a news conference today.

Based on statistics recorded by PPIM, he said there were 15,000 cases involving loan sharks last year such as extorting and beating up the borrowers.

"The number of cases is very worrying to PPIM because the loan sharks generally are reported to be capable of taking things into their own hands as long as the debts are not settled," he said, expressing concern that the number of cases would increase this year.

--BERNAMA