Its minister, Noh Omar, said today this was part of the government’s efforts to help entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the government usually checks whether loan applicants were in the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) or the CTOS credit reporting agency.

“We will set aside the CTOS and CCRIS processes to expedite the loan approval, especially involving government funds.

“We hope that with the absence of CTOS and CCRIS reviews, the loan approval process for entrepreneurs will be expedited,” Noh said in response to a supplementary question from Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), who questioned the ministry’s efforts in ensuring that small- and medium-sized enterprises were able to face the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

Noh said his ministry would also set up a special committee to monitor loan approvals.

“If an agency under my ministry has promised to approve a loan within 10 days, it must keep that promise.

“This is important because I have received complaints that some entrepreneurs have had to wait for up to three months to find out the status of their loan applications.

“This committee could investigate the real cause of delays in loan approvals and why they happen so that entrepreneurs facing challenges can be assisted by the government,” he said.