KUCHING, Jan 16: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (SPCB) chief Wilfred Yap has advised the public not to resort to money lenders or loan sharks for short-term solutions to their woes.
He said this following a recent case where a single mother came seeking his help after the disappearance of her son.
“I was recently approached by a single mother from Batu Kawa, Kuching. She felt harassed, threatened and scared after two strangers came to her house six times looking for her son to collect payment for a loan they alleged her son owed them.
“The single mother informed that her son had not come home for five days already and that she was scared for the safety of her son.
“The single mother has since lodged a police report,” said Yap in a statement today.
He said people with financial problems need not suffer mentally and emotionally every time collection agencies appointed by financial institutions come to harass them as they could approach the National Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency or more commonly known as Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK).
“AKPK was set up by our government under Bank Negara’s umbrella to help people in debt or facing financial problems,” he explained.
He added that the SUPP Public Complaints Bureau would like to advise anyone who have debt servicing problems with financial institutions to go to AKPK for assistance as it is free of charge, legal and staffed with experienced officers who will act on their problem.
The AKPK office in Kuching is situated at Bangunan Bank Negara Malaysia, Jalan Satok, and they can be reached at 082-414910.
SUPP Public Complaints Bureau is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone facing problems or who come across problems of public interest but does not know how to deal with it.
Anyone requiring assistance can always call SUPP Public Complaint’s mobile number at 016-7797688 or 082-246999 or go direct to SUPP Head Office to request for assistance. — DayakDaily
