I wish to bring to the attention of the authorities the current practice of Malaysian banks in offering study loans to Malaysians wishing to pursue tertiary education overseas. This is because the banks are making a mockery of our social and community values.

Malaysian banks seem to not to know their limits in pushing for business. They are now beginning to capitalise on our young students by falsely giving the public a 'caring' image.

If you are student applying for a study loan from a commercial bank, please don't be surprised if you are politely told to hand in together with your application your income tax returns form or collateral in the form of landed property or fixed deposit certificates.

I find this disgusting and sickening. The bank will then tell the student that this is really a business loan disguised with the name 'study loan'. They will also tell the student that the bank is not a charitable institution and since they know the student is not a business person, they would expect the student to bring his parents or any other person who is financially well-off to be the co- borrower.

What is even more nauseating is that the banks expect the student to start repaying the loan as soon as the loan is disbursed and not after graduation.

What on earth is wrong with Malaysian bankers? What happens if the student is the son of a rubber tapper and wishes to rise above the position of his father who can't afford to send him for further studies? Poor students will never have a chance if the banks continue to deny them real study loans.

I call upon the government to issue strict instructions to banks to treat student applicants for study loan as a non-working, non-business applicant on terms the same as government study loan programmes. Otherwise, commercial banks have no business getting themselves into student loan programmes. It is as simple as that.