Now that the heat on Ctos and credit reference agencies (CRA) is in full swing, it would also fare in good stead for consumers and customers if we view the micro and macro economics in proper perspective. There were strong advocates to tighten credit policies and make sure that graduates do not fall victims and become bad debtors. But it appears that banks and the government of the day are becoming victims of their own policies.

For the government, it is imperative that the national car industry be able to sustain car sales and growth for these companies invariably support the thousands of local car parts manufacturers who are part of the great SME (small and medium enterprises) plan to ensure that Malaysia has a strong industrial base to sustain economic growth.

But woe, car sales are rapidly declining. That's because a big portion of Class F, D contractors, middle-level employees in government and private sectors, my own subordinates and peers (and the list goes on) are ineligible for loans just because they are on CRA's lists despite having settled their past loans.

Banks do not officially indicate why any loan application is rejected and neither do they query the consumer whether some credit listings have already been resolved. Malaysian consumers are so meek and timid that they, too, do not question the financial institutions why they were denied their loans.

Without exaggeration, I may safely say that millions of consumers have been rightly or wrongly blacklisted. Once any credit record is entered, maybe 15 years or 10 years or five years ago, the black mark is there. Hence the vast list of eligible and creditworthy consumers is rapidly shrinking.

Could that plausibly be why banks are targeting fresh new graduates and showering them with all kinds of credit cards? Because these are the only ones who are not blacklisted? Car prices are dropping and loan periods are being extended to nine years. Banks are even offering 'zero' deposits yet car sales are dipping.

If the government of the day does not do something drastic, this sluggishness is going to seep through to the thousands of small and medium business operators who are currently supplying plastic parts, rubber linings, hub caps, etc, to the local car industry. There are whole industries waiting to fail because Malaysia does not have a robust segment of active consumers.

No bank officer will listen to a consumer. The credit reference list is the 'holy book' they go by. The banks stop right in their tracks in their loan processing the minute they hit a name listed on a credit reference list. Not only are our financial institutions not intelligent, they are also not smart.

Was it not too long ago during a currency crisis that the government had to bail out so many Malaysian banks? Too bad there was no way the consumers could have blacklisted these banks or the long list of their high-flying executives, top management and key employees for failing the consumers and customers.

In my simple mind it seems that whatever mistakes the banks made, they were given fresh infusions of funds from the government so that they could start anew. If the banks' debts were written off, what about the millions of bank loan defaulters who were also victims of the crisis but who are now permanently scarred and blacklisted in Ctos and other credit listings? Do they have any relief coming their way?

So while the debate rages on how much damage or contribution Ctos has done, please also ponder how much impact the financial institutions, the government institutions such as the ROC and Bank Negara have had on the ordinary man in the street. Why has Bank Negara not responded to the public outcry on Ctos recently?

Why the finance minister's meek response to the public outcry? Who are the real beneficiaries of Ctos' operations? If any company were making RM80 million annually, can one as a responsible taxpayer ask if taxes were paid by this company? Is the Inland Revenue Board looking and asking or asking at all? If all these parties are serious about the 'rakyat', it is time to look at these issues with due diligence.