KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) has successfully reduced the non-performing loan (NPL) rate from double digits to a single digit, following follow-up actions taken against defaulters.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that among the measures taken were legal action and asset seizures from defaulters.
Without disclosing the current NPL percentage, Ahmad Zahid said that it had once exceeded 10 per cent.
"Although we are not satisfied yet, we have taken steps, including supervision, because there are borrowers in the defaulter category and I am not referring to any specific individuals, this group does exist," he said.
He emphasised that the actions taken were not just legal measures, but also mandatory asset seizures, since loans are not grants or aid, but loans that must be repaid in order to generate the capital needed to provide opportunities for other borrowers to advance in their respective fields.
He was speaking to the press after the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd and Felcra Berhad for the development of a data centre in Bagan Datuk, Perak, here today.
Yesterday, Mara Chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki was reported as saying that some borrowers from the institution deliberately avoided repaying their loans while flaunting their wealth.
In response, Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said that Mara does not show favouritism in taking action, as the funds involved are from taxpayers' money.
Previously, media reports indicated that Mara officers had raided a house believed to be owned by a famous actress in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, following her failure to repay a loan of RM1 million.