| Summary: | This thesis alms to examine the extent to which the Malaysian Moneylenders (Amendment) Act 2003 has rectified the defects of its parent Act, the Malaysian Moneylenders Act 1951 in regulating and controlling the business of moneylending, protecting the borrowers in the course of moneylending transactions and eliminating illegal moneylending. In order to achieve these objectives, an in-depth analysis of the 2003 Act was therefore undertaken. This includes analysing the licensing regime, the advertising system, the enforcement mechanisms, the prescribed moneylending agreement, the conduct of moneylending business, as well as civil and criminal sanctions. From the methodological point of view, this thesis seeks to demonstrate the importance of a comparative approach as a key to understanding the present law of a country and to determine whether further reforms are needed. Thus, the English Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006 were chosen as a basis of comparison, for justifiable reasons. The points of comparison are analysed in terms of their strengths and limitations, with a view of suggesting ways to optimise the strengths and minimise the limitations. The findings of the research indicate that the 2003 Act has brought significant reform to the moneylending industry in line with modern credit practice. However, despite the remarkable improvement, the 2003 Act also suffers from serious flaws in several important aspects. Immediate attention and further reform are essential in the areas of licensing, advertisement permits, search and arrest as well as the prescribed moneylending agreement. Failure to address these critical issues will undermine the very aims of the reform and may jeopardise the interest of borrowers in the moneylending transactions.
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