A couple who previously lived next door to us in Desa Ilmu, their two-year-old toddler and their maid were kindly told to leave their rented house after being three months behind in the rental.
Despite earning a very decent income – both are educationists with teaching degrees – they once confided to my wife (who is also a teacher) that a sizeable portion of their monthly income was taken by a third party, namely licensed moneylenders.
What the husband wasn’t aware of was the fact that his wife spent – and lost – a lot on online gambling. And what the wife wasn’t privy to was that her hubby, who taught in another school, also had his own hobby, namely playing “holo” with his own group without the wife’s knowledge. He confided to me about his involvement in this circa June 2013 – they moved from Desa Ilmu in September this year.
This predicament with moneylenders also has brought additional tasks for the staff of the National Registration Department (NRD) whereby many couples have been called for counselling prior to their petitions for divorce were finalised.
“This year has seen a remarkable increase in the petitions for divorce,” said a senior officer in the department, adding that a big portion of the divorces were due to financial problems, mostly attributed to gambling and money lending matters. An old friend and speaking on condition of anonymity, he told me that he had personally counselled no less than six couples whose marriages broke down due to problems with moneylenders.
“They told me that they had no choice but to borrow money from moneylenders who charged interests between 10 and 20 percent monthly on the principal sum owed.
“Their salaries are withdrawn by their creditors using their ATM cards, giving them only the balance after deducting the agreed monthly payment plus the appropriate interests,” he said, adding that the ATMs were held by the moneylending companies.
Since a few years ago the Kuching City South Council (MBKS) has been get tough on moneylending by tearing and removing posters as well as banners put up licensed moneylenders in its areas of jurisdiction. However, despite some initial successes, there seemed to be more moneylending companies coming up, including those in Kota Samarahan area.
These companies also put up advertisements in the local dailies, including the Bahasa Malaysia editions. They use very catchy headlines such as ‘Fast Approval Personal Loan – No Guarantor & Collateral’ and Pinjaman Wang Segera – Proses Mudah Dan Laju. Some say that approval from their companies would take no more than two hours.
“This fast approval is the plus factor for the money lending companies. They do not require any collateral. Customers need only to bring their payslips and bankcards (ATMs) as well as photocopies of their MyKads,” said the senior NRD man adding that due to the easy and fast approval more people were lining up to apply for loans from the companies.
“So while the companies are laughing all the way to the banks, the borrowers are suffering in silence,” he said.
Another source said the borrowers are naturally reluctant to share their predicament with a third party unless forced to. He therefore concurred with my old friend, the NRD officer, that they (the borrowers) are the victims who suffer in silence or in secrecy.
In this case, are these licensed moneylenders actually doing a helping service to the community or do they exist to add more problems? I agree that any business entity is entitled to gain profit as long as it is legitimately earned. In this moneylending business, though licensed, their system of charging high interests is certainly a ‘killing act’.
To borrow or not to borrow is the question that is so difficult to answer though it involves a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. People borrow for various reasons but there are actually those who are desperately in need of cash to buy food for immediate consumption. There are also motorists who need cash to get fuel for their vehicles. As such these people have no choice but to source immediate fund for such needs. This is where moneylenders come in handy and people initially feel grateful for their existence.
In this case, they fulfil the immediate needs of clients but in the long run they suck. The clients’ vulnerability lies in their urgency in sourcing funds for their various immediate needs, particularly laying food on the table and avoiding their cars to run out of gas. This is where people are so grateful for their services. They may seem less intimidating than the unlicensed loan sharks but the ferocity of their sting is similarly vicious and deadly – there have been cases whereby gangsters and thugs employed by these moneylenders come over to harass defaulting borrowers at the latter’s premises, a retired police assistant superintendent said.
Of course there are banks which do offer loans with reasonable interests but these institutions require all sorts of documents and collaterals which customers find difficult to fulfil. Plus the red tape involved, they suck too. So the moneylending companies are the immediate solutions.
If I am put in such a situation, it would not take me long to decide on the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. What say you?
