Shafiq Sahat said he would not drop the case despite Koperasi Wawasan Malaysia Bhd (Kowamas) settling his arrears and pleading with him to do so.

The 35-year-old said the inconvenience caused by the co-operative to him and several other borrowers had made him determined to pursue the case, which will be heard this Thursday at the Co-operative Tribunal.

“I am hoping (this claim) will be a wake-up call for other borrowers to check their payment status to avoid a similar situation,” he told FMT.

The father-of-two from Kuching, Sarawak, said he was alleged to still owe the bank money despite having settled the loan with Kowamas in 2020.

Shafiq said he only found out about his supposed debt and being blacklisted when a bank ran his name in the Central Credit Reference Information System after he applied for a housing loan.

He said he was shocked to discover that he was still in debt with the bank, especially since he had already settled his loan with Kowamas.

Shafiq claimed he was not informed that the loan the co-operative provided was from a bank.

“It is the co-operative that should be blacklisted, not me,” he said.

He claimed he later found out that many others who had taken loans had also been blacklisted without their knowledge.

To clear his name, he lodged a report with the Malaysia Co-operative Societies Commission.

“When I got a date for my hearing at the tribunal, the co-operative suddenly settled my arrears.

“It also sent a representative to plead with me to drop the case, but I’m not budging,” he said.

FMT has reached out to Kowamas for its side of the story.