RM500,000 to Ah Longs?

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government Employees Co-operative Society Berhad (Kopeks) helped its members settle about RM500,000 owed to Ah Longs (illegal moneylenders) - becoming probably the first in the nation to do so.
Its Chairman Datuk Maznah Abd Ghani said the organisation assisted about 200 members in this endeavour including an addition of 23 members on Thursday.

She said the first payment was made on June 14 and subsequently on July 14. "So, today (Thursday) is the third payment that we give out to 23 members totalling more than RM200,000," she said.

She urged those who took out loans from Kopeks to settle their debts with the loan sharks. They should avoid borrowing from Ah Longs again once their obligation with Kopeks has been fulfilled, she said, adding the loan was meant to assist those with genuine financial difficulty.

According to her, some members did not settle all their outstanding loans from the Ah Longs after receiving aid from Kopeks but used some of it for themselves.

"In one case, a borrower took out RM13,000 from Kopeks but paid only RM8,000 to the loan sharks and used the rest on other things.

"They should settle their debts with the loan sharks once and for all so that they will not be forever in the clutches of these Ah Longs," she said.

She said it is unfair also to other Kopeks members who wanted to borrow money from the organisation.
To this, Maznah urged borrowers to ensure they settle their Kopeks loan according to the contract they signed. Further on the issue, she said Kopeks would not hesitate to report to the police if the loan sharks continue to hound its members unnecessarily.

She also said that if the lenders happen to be licensed and resorted to strong coercion methods to get back their money, the organisation would report to the Ministry of Finance.

Maznah, who is also Deputy State Secretary, was at a loss as to why civil servants would rather borrow from loan sharks who charged high interest.

However, she reiterated that the assistance scheme extended by Kopeks to its members facing financial difficulty is only on an ad-hoc basis.

"After this, you have to help yourself," she said.

She said Kopeks members could make some money for themselves through the incentive scheme where they get paid RM10 for introducing a new member.

Another incentive is if they introduce the Kopeks loan scheme to a borrower where they get paid RM10 for each RM10,000 loan taken out by the borrower, she said.

If more people borrow from the co-operative, she said they would get dividends and allowance during the Kopeks annual general meeting.

She said Kopeks' interest rate is 7 per cent, which is almost the same as Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) at 8 per cent.

Kopeks Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Buvil Angkui said the closing date to register for the assistance scheme is Sept. 13.

He said no other co-operative in the country has done what Kopeks is doing for its members in this aspect.
There are currently about 10,500 Kopeks members throughout the State, he said.