'Difficult to abolish PTPTN loans in difficult economic situation'
PARLIAMENT | It is difficult for the government to waive National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loan repayments amid the country’s financial situation, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Mustapha Sakmud (Harapan-Sepanggar) said the federal government has a huge financial commitment and PTPTN needs its borrowers to repay their loans so it can continue providing the service to other students.
“I believe this PTPTN issue has been dragged for quite some time, and all parties from both sides of the political divide...
PARLIAMENT | It is difficult for the government to waive National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loan repayments amid the country’s financial situation, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Mustapha Sakmud (Harapan-Sepanggar) said the federal government has a huge financial commitment and PTPTN needs its borrowers to repay their loans so it can continue providing the service to other students.
“I believe this PTPTN issue has been dragged for quite some time, and all parties from both sides of the political divide have (at one point) included this matter in their manifesto.
“But given the current situation, it would be quite difficult for us to abolish (loan repayments) especially with the government shouldering a huge (financial) commitment.
“We also have to think of those who have already settled their loans, should we want to scrap repayment for those who haven’t. We need the money to ‘roll’, to fund the education of other students in the future,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time.
Mustapha (above) was responding to a supplementary question by Sabri Azit (PN-Jerai), who wanted to know if the ministry has any plans to review the need to do away with PTPTN loan repayment for students from poor and B40 households.
‘Recycling old manifesto’
Later, during the debate session for the Supply Bill, the same issue sparked an altercation when Ronald Kiandee (PN-Beluran) criticised the government for not including a proposal to drop PTPTN loan repayment.
In his speech, Ronald panned “some leaders on the other side” whom he said had previously promised to provide free education and abolish PTPTN loans.
This irked Chong Zhemin (Harapan-Kampar) who accused the PN leader of trying to confuse the Parliament, saying that the promise to abolish PTPTN was only part of the Pakatan Harapan manifesto in 2013 and had since been amended.
“That was part of the 2013 manifesto, do not recycle an old manifesto here.
“In the 2022 manifesto, no party made any promise to provide free education or abolish PTPTN,” he said.
Chong called for Ronald to retract his remarks and urged Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Alice Lau to make a ruling.
However, Lau said the Beluran MP did not mention anyone in specific and ordered Chong not to disrupt the debate session.
Unfulfilled promise
For the record, Harapan had in 2013 included a promise to abolish PTPTN in its then-election manifesto.
The coalition had since changed the promise in its 2018 general election manifesto to only allow deferment of loan repayment to PTPTN borrowers who earn less than RM4,000 a month.
It was the sixth of the 10 promises Harapan pledged to fulfil in its first 100 days in office, a timeline that ended on Aug 17, 2018.
However, despite the amended promise, the then-Harapan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad backtracked on its manifesto, citing the country’s high level of debt.
