DEPUTY Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow's statement this week that the "Ah Long menace has reached a worrying stage" is indeed worrying.

Why?

I would have thought that it had long gone beyond the 'worrying' stage. With so many suicide cases and other deaths directly linked to the menace, acts of violence and destruction of the family unit, how could the situation still be described as merely 'worrying'.

In my book, the Ah Long menace is now at a very 'critical' level. The government should place the situation on 'red alert', perhaps just a rung below the alert against drug traffickers.

Let's face it. That loan sharking is able to thrive in our society is principally due to the involvement of agencies and people directly or indirectly in the trade which they are supposed to control or nip in the bud. Isn't this the case with all things illegal in this country?

Hey, it wasn't too long ago that we saw a minister being photographed buddy-buddy with a notorious underworld leader. Then, there were also complaints about several shady characters being recommended by certain politicians for state titles such as the datukship. Who is surprised these days to hear people say, "oh, that is a Datuk gangster". My guess is - he must be a Ah Long too.

Actually, we need not have to go beyond these few weeks to see how those involved in illegal activities in this country can get away scotch-free, even after they have been caught and brought to book. Just ask Fu Ah Kiow's colleague in the ministry why he has been trying to avoid the media at all costs these past weeks. In case you haven't heard, there is a new business in town - 'Freedom for Sale'.

Will it succeed?

But come on, surely the government is doing something about the Ah Long menace too. Let's be fair and give it due credit as well.

Fu's announcement that the government is starting an aggressive year-long education and enforcement campaign to eradicate the growing loan shark menace is, at least, consoling. However, whether it will succeed or not is another matter.

A five-ministry committee has been formed to devise a multi-pronged approach to eradicate the social ill. Its main task is to create public awareness to use licensed moneylenders and to stop resorting to the loan sharks.

Fu said the committee had also agreed to strictly monitor legal moneylenders to ensure they comply with the rules and regulations. These include charging only the permitted interest rates, having an office, not renting out their licences and not appointing runners or third parties to solicit business.

Well and good. But I'm actually taken aback to learn that 3,000 money-lending licences had been issued to date. In the same breadth, Fu said that the Finance Ministry has been asked to look into providing micro-credit loans to prevent the public from turning to money lenders.

Somehow, that doesn't jell to me. You issue licences to 3,000 money-lenders who are likely to find ways and means to look for clients. Then you say that you are discouraging people from borrowing from these money lenders whom you have issued licences to.

Now, it makes better sense NOT to issue money-lending licences but to devise a scheme where those involved in the money-lending business can work with the Finance Ministry in providing micro-credit loans to people who need them.

It's the system!

That way, there is no necessity for the Internal Security Ministry to write to the media not to accept advertisements from moneylenders without advertising permits. There is no need to second additional police officers to the Housing and Local Government Ministry's monitoring and enforcement division to fight loan sharks. The police also need not waste their time in tracking down Ah Long who have been distributing flyers, stickers and call cards and the Housing and Local Government Ministry can forget about having to put up anti-Ah Long messages and slogans on billboards.

But of course, this isn't how the system works in this country. Work must be found for people to do, so that there is a reason to pay them a salary.

To deal with the loan shark menace alone, five ministries and I guess, many officers and other personnel as well, will have to be deployed. So, a menace has to be created or allowed to remain so that these people will have some work to do. Isn't that in plain simple English just one lousy vicious cycle we can do without in this country!

Somehow, I'm not too confident that Ah Fu or Ah Kiow can help resolve the menace created by Ah Long.