Disabled man turns to loan sharks after losing his stall

With no other way to support his family, Murugan Raju is struggling to repay his debt amid threats from 'ah long'.

Fadila Awaludin

Feb 24, 2021 8:00 AM

Murugan Raju checks through a basket of jelly puddings, one in a list of goods that have been 

damaged since he was forced to close his kiosk in Rawang, Selangor, a year ago.

Despite his status as a special needs person or OKU, Murugan Raju used to run a kiosk selling snacks and sweets near SK Rawang in Selangor. Now, though, he has lost his stall and is in debt to loan sharks to the tune of RM10,000.

Murugan, 50, was aware of the risk involved when he took out the loan. But he had no choice as he has four children, one of whom also has OKU status.

He was told that he could no longer run his kiosk as it would be in the way of a project to expand the road. Local authorities also rejected his application to renew his business licence.

That was a year ago.

Now, he and his family depend on handouts from the welfare department which gives them RM450 each month.

Murugan had tried appealing to the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) for permission to continue his business until the project begins.

“I need that kiosk. It was our only source of income for the whole family,” he told Malaysianow.

“We asked for assistance to be given a new location to run the business, but until today we have not received any response.”

Murugan Raju holds up his expired business licence which he has been trying without success to renew.

MPS licensing department director Zulaina Abu Talib said Murugan had been unable to renew his business licence due to the road widening project.

“If he wants to reapply, he can identify a business location and then submit an application for a licence,” she told MalaysiaNow.

Unable to continue running his business, Murugan chalked up losses of up to RM2,000 from damage to the goods he could no longer sell.

His wife Theivanai Vellithan, 42, is unemployed and his 24-year-old daughter still needs her family’s support as she has learning difficulties.

Lacking the money to provide for his wife and children, Murugan turned to loan sharks or “ah long”.

“I was once under such pressure that I thought it would be better to die than to continue suffering like that,” he said with tears in his eyes.

“If I didn’t take that loan, how would I provide for my family?”

Murugan Raju pulls down the shutters at his kiosk, which was his family’s sole source of income.

Those who borrow from loan sharks run the risk of threats and being roughed up if they are slow in making repayments, something Murugan can now testify to.

“They telephoned, angry because I was behind in my payments. They said if I couldn’t give them one of my daughters, my wife would do,” he told MalaysiaNow.

In an attempt to protect himself and his family, Murugan dipped into his EPF savings, withdrawing RM5,000 under the i-Sinar programme to repay some of his debt.

As he is a member of the Independent Living & Training Centre (ILTC), he also turned to the association for help.

ILTC president Francis Siva said the centre gives skills training and support to about 400 members to live an independent life.

“We offer advice and support as well as assistance in computer skills or anything else they need,” he said.

“We also try to ease the burden of members through contributions of food and daily necessities.”

He voiced hope that more people designated as OKU would register with the centre, adding that they too would continue seeking them out in order to provide assistance.

He estimates that some 600,000 people across the country are designated as OKU but only 124,000 receive help from government agencies.

He said the rest are considered ineligible due to factors such as incomplete forms or the ability to afford a car, refrigerator or Astro TV at home.

Lockdowns spell trouble for the disabled

Ainaa Aiman

 

February 9, 2021 8:15 AM

Most disabled people do not know how to ask for help, or which agency to contact.

PETALING JAYA: The pandemic has been hard on many people, but none so hard as the disabled community.

Not only are many of them jobless, they have also been unable to get adequate food and financial assistance.

An activist for the disabled community has expressed disappointment that despite government policies being passed to help the disabled during the pandemic, many have not got the aid promised in the various economic stimulus packages.

G Francis Siva, president of the Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) Malaysia, said most of disabled people are also the poorest.

“Some told me that when they called the Welfare Department (JKM) hotline, the people there would promise them assistance but would keep delaying it.

“Every time they called, they got promises of help. They keep on telling them ‘later we will give’. But they never do.

“I personally called this number, and they said they would come back to me but they never did.

“Under the economic stimulus packages, they were promised assistance worth RM100, but they never received a single sen. That’s very sad,” he said.

Francis, who is himself disabled, said he did get some assistance eventually, but it was just too little.

As a result, he said, many disabled people who were already underemployed or unemployed risked getting evicted when they could not pay rent.

Some would go as far as borrowing money from loan sharks just to survive, he said.

“I notice a lot of people are really stuck and don’t know what to do. I can only help in the Hulu Selangor and Gombak area.

“JKM needs to come and visit recipients at their homes. They must do that, but they don’t. They should come to check and see what kind of situation these people are in.

“There are instructions given to help us. But this help doesn’t reach us at the grassroots. They have all the logistics to come check on us. They can do it.”

Francis said that most disabled people did not know how to ask for help, or which agency to contact. Most could not speak up for themselves because of their lack of education.

“The support system for them is not in place. On top of that, nobody can go out. So they just sit at home, completely on their own sometimes,” he said.

The disabled, Francis said, were facing a double challenge because their mental health was under threat too. Many were already prone to mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, but now suffer increasingly severe symptoms.

He said many people were also forced to pay for their own healthcare and medication despite having close to no income.

With no certainty as to when movement restrictions would end, many were beginning to feel hopeless.

“We try to help them. We managed to raise some donations to be able to cover food for them for one or two months. We send packs of food to their doorsteps. But we can only help those in this area,” he said.

Personal Assistant For Disabled Training workshop in Rawang, Selangor. This project was a collaboration between the Independent Living & Training Centre Malaysia (ILTC Malaysia) and the Development of Persons with Disabilities Department (JPOKU). Malaysia needs at least seven Independent Living Centres (ILCs) to meet the needs of over half a million disabled people in the country. We have started training personal assistants on 16th – 19th December 2020 and also people with disabilities to enable them to become more independent and be able to go out and be with other people. The first group of 18 PAs would serve as a benchmark for the expansion of the services to those in need. More interesting, they (PAs) will receive an allowance of RM20 per hour for services rendered.

Biennial General Meeting of the Independent Living & Training Centre Malaysia

13th Biennial General Meeting of the Independent Living & Training Centre Malaysia which was successfully held on 27th of September 2020, at 10.30am, at ILTC Malaysia, Lot No. 112, Kg. Sg. Dua Tambahan, Jalan Batu Arang, Mukim Rawang, 48000 Rawang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

I would like to thank every disabled member who joined our event.

See you guys again!

Cheers
G. Francis Siva