Blacklisted at nine: Penang student barred from opening bank account over ‘tipping offensive', PTPTN loan in jeopardy

GEORGE TOWN, April 24 — An 18-year-old student who tried to open his first personal savings account was shocked when he was told that he was blacklisted from opening a bank account due to a blacklist he was placed on when he was nine years old.
Terry Choo Teck Lee went to Hong Leong Bank in Bayan Baru in early March to open a personal savings account so that he could apply for a Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) loan to finance his studies.
However, a bank officer in the bank told him that he could not open any account in the bank because he was blacklisted in the system under 'Tipping Offensive' since 2016.
'I was only nine years old at that time, I couldn't even open a savings account at that time without parental approval so I don't understand how I could be blacklisted at that time,' he said during a press conference called by Penang Gerakan Complaints Bureau Chief Andrew Ooi recently.
Choo then went to Bank Negara to check his Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) report and his report was clear without any blacklists.
So, he went to Maybank at Queensbay Mall on March 12 to try to open a personal savings account there but the bank informed him that he is blacklisted and had rejected him.
He lodged a police report in the Bayan Baru police station on March 13 to refer his case to Bank Negara yet again.
Choo was then advised to check with the court and his CTOS score.
'I checked with the courts and my CTOS were all clear, I was not on any blacklist,' he said.
Even after bringing his issue to light through a press conference two days ago, Choo was still unable to open a savings account.
'He went to another bank, CIMB, to try to open an account and still, he was rejected,' Ooi said.
He said Maybank had called Choo immediately after the news of his predicament was published and informed him that they will investigate his case.
Ooi said it does not make sense that Choo was placed on a blacklist from when he was only nine years old.
'How could a nine-year-old boy be blacklisted for tipping offensive?' he asked.
He said both of Choo's parents have personal savings accounts in two different banks but it was a mystery why their son was blacklisted and not allowed to open a savings account.
He said without a savings account, Choo will not be able to apply for PTPTN and this could impact his studies as he is planning to continue his studies in law at a local college.
'I hope Bank Negara will look into this and clear the blacklist so that he will be able to open a savings account,' he said.

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