KUALA LUMPUR: Close to 2,000 cases of violence involving loan sharks, better known as Ah Longs, have been reported between 2020 and August this year, according to the Home Ministry.
"The overall statistics for cases of violence involving Ah Longs that were reported nationwide between 2020 and 2024 are 1,965 cases," it stated.
The ministry was responding to a question by Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (PH-Beruas) regarding the statistics of Ah Long violence, including the use of molotov cocktails over the past five years.
In July, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf told The Star that illegal moneylending activities have moved to cyberspace as stringent enforcement is forcing many physical premises to close down.
Ramli mentioned that the force is unable to completely eradicate the Ah Long menace due to certain constraints.
He noted a decline in cases between January and June this year, with 400 cases involving loan sharks compared to 543 cases recorded for the same period last year.
Over the past two years, cases were highest in Johor due to loan shark activities from a neighbouring country.
Comm Ramli stated that 588 operations against Ah Longs were conducted in the first six months last year, resulting in 704 arrests, while this year 440 operations were carried out and 416 people were arrested.
Apart from Johor, states that recorded a high number of loan shark cases included Sarawak, Penang, and Selangor.
