Twentytwo13

Targeted moratorium: Fomca hopes banks will be more compassionate

Banks should be more holistic when dealing with customers to facilitate an extended moratorium on bank loans as announced by the government today.

Federation of Consumers Association Malaysia (Fomca) chief executive officer and secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj said banks should be more “compassionate” with borrowers whose income streams have been affected.

This afternoon, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced those who had lost their jobs this year and have yet to secure another job can continue to enjoy the moratorium introduced in April, until Dec 31. The moratorium period can be extended further by the banks depending on the individual’s situation.

Muhyiddin also said those working but have had their wages cut can have their monthly instalments for their housing and personal loans decreased in tandem with their pay cuts.

Selvaraj said banks should not look at the matter from a literal and narrow perspective as “no two persons share the same predicament”.

“A husband who is the borrower may have suffered a pay cut, but his wife may have lost her job and he is now the sole breadwinner,” said Selvaraj.

“Those who feel they are not being fairly treated by their banks should bring their case to Bank Negara.”

Selvaraj also said equally important is for the government to address the predicament of those who have not been able to secure employment.

“Giving a monthly allowance for those who have lost their jobs alone will not help this group, the government needs to look at the matter from a broader perspective,” he added.

Here’s the round-up of The News Normal today.

TWO WEEKS TO SEE IF COVID-19 CASES SPIKE DUE TO NAJIB’S TRIAL GATHERING

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said it will take two weeks to see if there will be a spike in Covid-19 cases following the mass gathering at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham, however, hopes there will be no major infections as those who attended the gathering failed to observe the standard operating procedures, including physical distancing and wearing face masks.

He had yesterday expressed sadness over the failure to observe sops during the gathering in support of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International case.

JHO LOW NOW IN MACAU

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador was quoted by Bloomberg as saying there is a strong indication Low Taek Jho, or popularly known as Jho Low, is in Macau.

Low is wanted in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fiasco.

In February, Abdul Hamid said he had received information that Low was active in Wuhan.

PKR TRAITORS TO BE SUED FOR RM10 MILLION EACH

Twenty former PKR elected representatives will face legal action for defecting from the party.

PKR treasurer-general Lee Chean Chung said in a statement the party has instructed its lawyers to issue letters of demand to claim RM10 million from each of the 10 MPs and 10 state assemblymen.

In 2018, PKR candidates for the 14th general election signed a legal document agreeing to a RM10 million fine should they defect to another party.

NAVIGATING A MASKED WORLD

With many countries experiencing the second wave of Covid-19, we still have anti-maskers who feel it is an infringement of their rights to wear the masks.

Twentytwo13 contributor Rita Jong says Malaysians do not have to wait until Aug 1 to put on the mask.