Pay Up or Face the Brunt

In view of the poor repayments by loan borrowers of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), its Chairman Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah announced as a result, the corporation is incapacitated to provide loans to the needy and qualified applicants. 

PTPTN was formed to provide financial assistance/study loans for applicants from diploma studies to PhD level since 1997. Since then till July this year, 2.49 million students have enjoyed the PTPTN facility. A total of RM56.4bil have been given out as loans while only RM8bil retrieved. 

Several initiatives were introduced by PTPTN, including online banking and opening doors for consultation and negotiate on restructuring (lenient) the loan payments. A total of some 1.3 million PTPTN borrowers were listed under the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) because they had failed to service their study loans on time. Some 1.2 million borrowers had either fully paid up, or were servicing their loans. 

PTPTN has resolved to forward, defaulters details to the Immigration Department’s list of people barred from leaving the country, a practice that began in 2008. To date 111,001 people have been barred from travelling out of the country because they have failed to make payments for their PTPTN loans. 

The travel ban has resulted to about 40% of defaulters had approached PTPTN to renegotiate their repayment, or to settle the outstanding amount owed. PTPTN has yet to resort to listing defaulters under the privately-operated Credit Tip Off Service (CTOS) which will hammer serious financial implications towards them. 

“Should debtors have difficulties in servicing their loans, they can meet PTPTN officials to discuss the matter,” said Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, Higher Education Minister in the wake of some disgruntled debtors realizing the reality of life and advising PTPTN from victimizing the debtors. 

“If there is anyone who have been victimised, please come forward and I will personally help the person. However, they must bear in mind that when they took up a loan, it is their responsibility to pay back the amount”, Idris added. 

One would wonder, could PTPTN be insensitive in their efforts retrieving loans OR simply the frivolous acts of a number of the defaulters disguising under genuine commitments in the real world?