IPOH: A new repayment method and mechanism for the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan repayment to help ease the burden of low-income earners, will be unveiled next month.
PTPTN chairman, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, said the new repayment system is being drafted, with PTPTN holding meetings with the public to obtain feedback on how it can be best implemented.
He said the announcement made by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng during the 2019 Budget tabling with regards to the PTPTN repayment needs to be given focus.
“When he said that the repayment scheme will be based on salary deduction, this will be detailed further. When he announced that income tax exemption would be given to those who save via the National Education Savings Certificate (SSPN), the mechanism needs to be announced.
“All this will be done and implemented in December,” he told reporters after attending the Perak Integrity Empowerment Seminar here on Thursday.
The seminar was officiated by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Wan Saiful said PTPTN will do its best to ensure that the repayment method and mechanism will not burden borrowers.
“I feel that, when the announcement is made later, it will show what we (PTPTN) are doing to ensure that low wage earners are still being helped, without complicating their lives further with high repayment rates.
“This is something we will do. What’s important is that the borrowers must repay their loans,” he said.
Last Saturday, Wan Saidul had issued a public apology to Malaysians for being unable to fulfil Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto pledge to delay PTPTN loan repayments for borrowers who are still earning below RM4,000 a month.
Revisiting the matter, Wan Saiful, who was among those who penned the Buku Harapan manifesto, said PTPTN is not trying to place an even bigger burden on borrowers but is only stressing on the importance of them repaying the loans.
“To those who uphold the principles of responsibility, I think this is good news because it helps other students secure PTPTN loans in the future.
“On the other hand, to those who insist on politicising the issue by insisting that we press ahead with something we cannot do due to legacy problems (from the previous administration), I think there’s nothing more we can do,” he said.
