Some 600 licensed money lenders representatives attended a briefing on the impact of the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) on the sector.
Organised by the Malaysian Punjabi Licensed Moneylenders Association (MPLMA), the session in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (18 Feb 2017) also allowed license money lenders to register themselves as required under the Act.
“We had a strong turnout,” MPLMA Vice President Palwinder Singh tells Asia Samachar.
Effective 16 Dec 2016, all registered money lenders are required to register themselves under the Act which regulates the processing of personal data in commercial transactions.
The half-day session also included officials from the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government and Ministry of Communications and Multimedia. Officials from the latter ministry had opened up a counter to enable to allow the participants to register as required by the Act.
On hand to brief the participants were Malaysian Personal Data Protection Commissioner Khalidah Mohd Darus and Richie a/k Andrew, an Assistant Chief Secretary at the department dealing with moneylenders.
In Malaysia, money lending is governed by the Moneylenders Act 1951 which comes under the supervision of the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government.
The Act regulates and controls the business of moneylending, the protection of borrowers of the monies lent in the course of such business.
MPLM (known as Persatuan Pemberi Pinjam Wang Berlesen Punjabi Malaysia) was formerly known as Punjabi Sahukara Association which was was established in 1952.
In September 2016, the association held a seminar to make members more aware of their role and responsibilities as moneylenders.
The seminar was held as the association found that some licensed money lenders were not well-versed with the regulatory requirements that govern their business.
– ASIA SAMACHAR
