Loan Terms

The Prime Minister of Malaysia was said to have given a directive to the SME Bank to give loans to all deserving Malaysians regardless of race (The Star, August 28th). He also declared that the SME Bank belonged to all Malaysians. What a wonderful statement! Obviously, he failed to convey his speech to the officers running the bank or they couldn't be bothered with politicians as they are holding permanent posts whereas politicians come and go. The bank staff probably think it is another political statement to fish for more votes in the next election. Which could be true, looking at realities.

In today's paper (The Star) there's was an article titled Loan Terms Upset Traders. It was reported that the SME Bank imposed all sorts of conditions. Among them the applicant must have a degree, the company must have a 51% bumiputra ownership, provide collateral and have fixed deposits. As usual the key officials of the bank were conveniently not available for comments.

They don't seem to understand the Prime Minister's speech which was meant for harmony, prosperity and long-term peace in this country. Especially when there is a lot of frustation and distrust in the government's policies in distributing wealth using the NEP in the name of maintaining stability, peace and harmony among the races.

When questioned regarding the 51% bumiputra ownership requirement, the bank officials said it was an unwritten rule! How is anyone going to know for sure if you have not followed the rules if it is unwritten? Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway? How does anyone know if it has not been modified to suit certain parties? The Prime Minister or his senior assistants need to follow up on his directives, to ensure that they are understood by those implementing them.

If we want to be a developed nation by 2020, we need to help all sectors to be productive and successfull. You can't achieve this if you have officers with narrow minds blocking the way of progress. If the Prime Minister was sincere when he made the statement about the availability of loans from the SME Bank to all Malaysians, he should take up the phone and straighten out the key officials who at the moment are conveniently missing. He needs to do this to affirm his leadership, otherwise he will just be a puppet for the oportunist behind the scene.