Contributed by Liew Kok Heng, Writer/Editor, Bar Council
The Office Bearers of the Malaysian Bar and representatives from Bank Muamalat had a meeting at Wisma Badan Peguam Malaysia on 3 July 2020. The meeting was initiated by the President of the Malaysian Bar, Salim Bashir. Mohd Amin Misran (Assistant Vice President) and Zufar Kamarudin (Senior Manager, SME Financing Department) represented Bank Muamalat at this meeting.
The discussion began with Bank Muamalat’s “The Professionals Programme”, which is a credit facility product offered to professionals. The President raised his concern that lawyers appear to have been excluded from the programme. The other Office Bearers also pointed out that such an exclusion does not appear to be justified, and asked if there were reasons as to the apparent exclusion. Mohd Amin Misran said that he would highlight the issue with the bank’s management.
The other matter raised was the difficulties faced by law firms in applying for credit facilities in general. It was noted during the meeting that law firms often encounter difficulties, specifically with regard to documentation and registration numbers, when dealing with banks. In this regard, the Office Bearers offered their assistance and requested that the bank’s representatives identify the problem areas and respond to the Bar Council, in that regard. The Office Bearers also proposed that Bank Muamalat consider providing customised credit facilities for law firms.
In closing, the representatives of Bank Muamalat said that they would look into the matters raised by the Office Bearers and respond soon.