I am ashamed of unpaid PTPTN loans, says Dr M

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has chided National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers who have failed to repay their study loans.

Speaking at a public university this morning, Mahathir said he was ashamed that PTPTN was owed billions of ringgit in unpaid loans.

“In order to educate Malaysians who are very poor, we give them scholarships [...] So they (go) to study in universities in countries abroad on the scholarships (or) loans given to them.

“Unfortunately, when they come back, they don’t want to repay the loan they have taken. We have accumulated RM36 billion of unpaid loans to PTPTN.

“I am ashamed but they are not! They are earning an income (and) they can very well pay but they just don’t feel like paying,” he said in his lecture to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students and staff in Kuala Lumpur today.  

Mahathir added that choosing not to pay off debts shows that the person is not trustworthy, and further created a negative perception of the community.

“And when that kind of thing happens, it is regarded as typical of persons of this particular race.

“So it is not just yourself, but other people are besmirched (too) because you have not been trustworthy,” he said.

Even if one earned RM2,000 a month, one should still choose to repay the loan, he said.

“Assume (the repayment) is RM100 per month. If you are earning RM2,000, what is RM100 per month?” Mahathir asked.

Postponing PTPTN loan repayments for those earning below RM4,000 monthly had been among the 10 promises Harapan previously pledged to fulfil within 100 days of forming the federal government.

However, this policy has yet to be enforced as the government continued to work out a mechanism to implement the promise.

In Mahathir’s lecture, which was presented as part of the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology’s “Japan Day” event, he also exhorted the values of working hard and having a “sense of shame”.

He told of how he had observed these qualities in the people of Japan during his trips there.

“So (with) a sense of shame, being hardworking and also being trustworthy [...] individuals should succeed and the whole race should succeed,” he said. - Mkini