BAYAN Baru MP Sim Tze Zin (PH) has proposed that the government set up a formal creditworthiness or credit scoring agency to regulate loan eligibility and better protect consumers from high-risk borrowing practices.
Debating the Consumer Credit Bill (RUUKP) 2025 at its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat today, Sim argued that a transparent credit rating system would help mitigate financial stress among consumers and limit borrowing from unlicensed lenders or syndicates.
“Although in Malaysia we have credit reporting companies such as CTOS, the average citizen does not understand credit scores and does not know his or her own credit standing,” he said.
He added, “A transparent creditworthiness or credit score can determine good borrower discipline and eligibility for other financial facilities such as credit cards, personal loans and others.”
Sim said the agency should work to increase public awareness of credit scoring while offering a clearer structure for assessing financial responsibility.
Meanwhile, Batang Sadong MP Rodiyah Sapiee (PH) called for the creation of a dedicated data centre to monitor the increasingly popular “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) financing model.
“All information related to BNPL should be collected in a special data centre which is not combined or reported in conventional credit systems such as the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS),” she said.
Rodiyah noted that because CCRIS is directly linked to larger loan eligibility—such as for housing or vehicles—integrating BNPL data could inadvertently limit low-income consumers’ ability to access major financing in future.
She proposed the data centre be placed under the purview of the Consumer Credit Commission to allow targeted oversight of BNPL risks, including payment patterns and consumer exposure limits, without distorting broader credit histories. - July 21, 2025
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