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Allow PTPTN loan defaulters to apply for late payment call

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Lee Seang Hock

KUCHING: Putrajaya has been urged to fulfil their election manifesto in allowing National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan defaulters, whose earning is less than RM4,000 a month, to apply for late repayment.

The same should also apply, albeit in a more felxible manner, to those vulnerable groups, those suffering from chronic illnesses and special cases to avoid worsening the situation of the needy, said Kuala Lumpur-based Malaysian Young Graduates Association (Graduan) yesterday.

Graduan president Lee Seang Hock felt that the government should not come out with a blanket statement in criticising the PTPN loan defaulters without first looking into the predicament of the defaulters.

Lee said based on available statistics, many graduates were still lowly paid and, at the same time, had to grapple with the rocketing living expenses, causing some defaulters to temporarily stop their PTPTN loan repayment.

Lee Seang Hock

He appealed to the government to consider more comprehensively the various factors that could have caused the default in repayment of the PTPTN loan, followed by a repayment scheme which fits the social justice and economy.

Having said this, Graduan urged the government to come up with proper scheme to get the PTPTN loan defaulters to repay their loans to ensure continuity and sustainbility of PTPTN.

“We should not criticise the loan defaulters for being shameless while at the same time allowing wilful defaulters – ones who are capable of repaying the loans but opt not to – to simply go scot-free without impunity.

“If and when necessary, appropriate legal actions must be taken against these wilful defaulters,” he stressed.

For now, Lee said it appeared that the government was not firm in getting loan defaulters, especially the wilful defaulters to repay their loans.

“This allows them to drag on without repaying their loans until there is a new announcement,” he said.

Recently, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the PTPTN loan defaulters were damaging their reputation and their community, adding those who refused to pay back were shameless and that they would face various difficulties.

According to Mahathir, the accumulated unpaid PTPTN loan to date was to the tune of RM36 bln, adding: “I am ashamed, but they are not.”

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