THERE are no plans to abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans for borrowers from the B40 income group.
Any such abolition would incur a high cost, of about RM42.34bil to 1.84 million borrowers, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
“However, the government is always caring and will prioritise the welfare of borrowers by providing loan repayment facilities,” he told Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) during Question Time.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal had asked when the government would implement targeted PTPTN loan cancellation for B40 households and the number of borrowers who would benefit from it.
Khaled said there were various options for borrowers to ease loan repayments, such as allowing postponements if the borrower is pursuing further studies or is unemployed.
He also noted that the government has allowed loan repayments to be restructured based on the borrowers’ financial capabilities.
“(PTPTN) also provides discounts if the loan is paid in full. Loan repayments also begin 12 months after borrowers complete their higher education to give them time to earn a stable income,” Khaled explained.
To an additional question on whether the government planned to introduce targeted abolishing since it was previously listed as an election manifesto, Khaled said only one of the parties under the unity government had promised to abolish PTPTN loan repayments.
“As I mentioned, if the abolishing is done, it will involve a considerable cost.
“Perhaps some parties have made various pledges before, but under the current unity government, we have decided to adopt policies that are common among the parties.
“So in this matter, we must look at the issue of capabilities and sustainability, but in this matter, it cannot be done at this point,” he said.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli then stood and wanted to refer Wan Ahmad Fayhsal to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for trying to mislead the Dewan Rakyat on the issue.
“In this matter, I want to refer Machang to the committee for accusing that there is a promise to abolish PTPTN and that it is listed as part of our election manifesto, that is a lie. It is not part of our manifesto,” he said.
In response, Deputy Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor asked him to file a written complaint to the Speaker’s office.
