KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) has pleaded for the government’s intervention on the credit and leasing finance companies’ failure to extend loan moratoriums as advised by the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
In a statement today, the association has requested for the government to consider appropriate and necessary action to ensure that the actions of credit and leasing finance companies were in line and compatible with the welfare, public interest and good order of the nation during Covid-19 pandemic.
Quoting a media report, MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said about 10,000 bus operators currently owe about RM3 billion to credit and leasing companies.
“Bus operators have had no business since March, yet they are still required to make repayments to the credit and leasing companies. It is ironic that despite being in the business of lending and leasing, credit and leasing companies are not regulated under Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
“It has been more than six months that the tourism industry, in particular the coach operators, have been highlighting this issue, yet, to-date, no proactive action has been taken to tackle this serious issue,” he said.
As such, Tan urged for the government to regulate credit and leasing companies under the provisions of the Financial Services Act or other relevant legislation.
He said the matter had previously been brought up in March 2020 when MATTA received complaints from its members that leasing and credit companies have created their own rules and practices in respect of the moratorium on repayment of loans, instead of applying the directions issued by BNM.
“However, none of the relevant ministries directly involved in the matter had shown any interest in resolving the tourism industry’s predicament.
“Failure to address the issues and concerns of the tourism sector will greatly affect the intended tourism restart in the near future in 2021, and may lead some parties to conclude that the government views the industry as dead in 2021,” he said.
MATTA is of the view that the failure to place credit and leasing companies under BNM’s purview or other authority during Covid-19 pandemic — specifically on the moratorium issue — has resulted and added to the misery of the tourism industry, he added. — Bernama
Source: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/11/15/matta-urges-govt-intervention-for-moratorium-by-credit-leasing-companies/1922828