New target for Ah Longs

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PUTRAJAYA: Loan sharks are targeting foreign students in local universities with easy-lending terms, asking for only their passports as collateral.

However, the students find themselves in a bind when they need to renew their visas, as they cannot get their passports back from the Ah Long until the loans are fully settled.

Many of the students have been unable to pay up due to the exorbitant interest rates charged by the loan sharks.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah said officials of a private university informed him of this at a function yesterday.

He expressed concern that such complaints would affect Malaysia’s image.

“Students run into trouble when they have to renew their visas but cannot settle the total amount to get the passports back.

“Some have even been held against their will by the Ah Long or their agents, to force them to pay up,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Murugiah, who is also chairman of the Public Complaints Bureau under the department, said the university also complained of illegal car rental services that targeted its students.

The companies, he added, gave out the vehicles for a mere RM10 per hour without checking if the drivers possessed valid driving licences.

He said the university was concerned after finding out that some students who were seriously injured or killed in traffic accidents did not have valid driving licences but had rented the cars.

“The university also asked me to look into problems faced by foreign students picked up by police after they fail to produce their passports while outside the campus.

“The varsity was at times not informed by the authorities despite the students pleading with them to do so.

“Another complaint was the delay in the issuance of student visas by the Immigration Department that could result in the student having to leave the country,” he said.

He added that the problems were highlighted during a two-hour meeting between him and bureau and university officials.

Murugiah said he would call for a meeting with the relevant authorities and university to look into ways to overcome the problems faced by the foreign students.

“We have to find a way to curb the problems before they start to affect Malaysia’s image and undo all the work put in to woo foreign students and tourists to the country,” he said.