W
Wei Yan
Guest
Monday October 4, 2010
Loan sharks can face action for acting as bailors
LENGGONG: Loan sharks who offer to act as bailors and lend bail money to family members of accused persons can be taken to court. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said the Government would use the provisions of existing laws against these Ah Longif it was found they had acted illegally.
“I have yet to receive a report but I think such activities do take place,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya open house hosted by Lenggong MP Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah at Taman Kota Tampan here yesterday. It was recently reported that court officials around the country had detected the operations of these loan sharks, believed to be part of a syndicate.
Some judges, on the advice of the court registrar, had not allowed the same person to act as bailor in multiple cases and had also interviewed bailors to ensure they were genuine. The Registrar of the High Court of Malaya issued a directive on Aug 25 to all court directors in the country to put up notices to warn the public about the operations of these loan sharks.
Home Minister Datuk Hishammudin Hussein had responded to the issue by saying his ministry was monitoring such activities. On another matter, Nazri said he supported the idea of fielding nine-term Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as the Barisan Nasional in the upcoming Galas by-election in Kelantan.
He also advised Malay rights group Perkasa to stay away from the by-election, following speculation that it might also put up a candidate. “Currently the Malay votes are split among Umno, PAS and PKR. Any attempt by Perkasa to contest would worsen the situation,” he said.
