OME MINISTRY DECLARES ALL-OUT WAR ON LOAN SHARKS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Bernama) -- The Home Ministry declared an all-out
war against "Ah Long", the loan sharks who impose exorbitant interest on their
loans and get violent with borrowers and their families when the loans are not
repaid on time.

Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said all departments under the
ministry would work together to find the best approach to tackle the issue.

"I am giving a stern warning to the Ah Long. I am stating in strong terms
that I am declaring a war on them.

"I believe that by pooling together the police, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and
experts in specific cases, we can tackle the issue," he told a news conference
after a visit to the Jalan Haji Taib area here.

"We will try to find ways to resolve this problem. My job is not to settle
the debts of the borrowers but to find ways to resolve the problem," he said.

Hishammuddin said that his approach of going to the ground, as he did today,
would enable him to get closer to the people and learn of their problems.

He had met earlier with five families and two individuals who had been
victims of "Ah Long", at a hotel here.

He said people went to "Ah Long" for loans to settle gambling debts, to buy
drugs and to pay off business debts.

"A family I met had borrowed only RM3,000 for their business but had to pay
up to RM35,000. Who would impose such high interest rates and then get violent
with the family and relatives of the borrower?" he said.

On the problems faced by the residents and traders in the Jalan Haji Taib
and Chow Kit area, Hishammuddin said a permanent or mobile police station would
be located in the area to tackle cases there.

"I have discussed with the IGP (Inspector-General of Police Musa
Hassan) to locate a mobile police station there or rent a business premise
suitable to be turned into a police station. The issues we often hear here are
prostitution and drug pushing, which has the residents worried," he said.

Chow Kit is a sub-district in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located
around Chow Kit Road and is enclosed by the parallel streets of Jalan Raja Laut
and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

-- BERNAMA