By Roy Goh and B. Suresh Ram

TENOM: Moneylending inspectors will join police in monitoring and inspecting the operations of 203 licensed moneylending operators in Sabah.

This follows the appointment of the officers, mostly from local authorities, who will double up as moneylending inspectors in efforts to curb the loan shark Ah Long menace.

A special five-day course on the Money Lenders Act 1951 (Act 400) was held here for state government officers who will be serving as moneylending inspectors.

The act was extended to cover Sabah last year, to replace the Sabah Money Lending Ordinance Cap 81 1901.

The course, which ended last Friday, focused on the preparation of investigation papers, commencement of legal action and ways to handle complaints.

Some 67 inspectors participated in the five-day course conducted by officers from the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Keningau district officer Amat Mohd Yusof, who was among 67 senior state government officers who attended the training, said many moneylenders ran their operations beyond the bounds of the law.

"They force borrowers to surrender their personal belongings as collateral, operate their businesses in unapproved pre-mises and use wrongful methods in collecting debts."

Meanwhile, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the ministry's enforcement unit monitored and inspected the activities of moneylenders in the peninsula.

He acknowledged that because of the lack of personnel, the unit sometimes sought the assistance of police.

Kong said although the Money Lenders Act 1951 was extended to Sabah and Sarawak, it was only applied selectively with regard to enforcement.

He said both states had their own sets of laws and regulations.