Sort out PTPTN mess, urges PH backbencher

Hassan Abdul Karim says many youngsters, students and undergraduates feel cheated because the government was unable to fulfil its promise on PTPTN loans. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: A Pakatan Harapan (PH) backbencher today urged the government to resolve issues relating to National Higher Education (PTPTN) loans.

Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) said many youngsters, students and undergraduates felt cheated because the government was unable to fulfil its promise on PTPTN loans.

“It is my hope. I do not want to be on the side of this government, a government that tries to lie to the rakyat. I urge the government, sort out this PTPTN issue. Help our young people, our students. Let us listen to their problems.

“Don’t be so harsh. Don’t be so fixated on dollars and sen. If we have already promised, we must fulfil. If not fully, then partially. If not partially, then part of that,” he said when debating the 2019 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, when tabling the 2019 Budget last week, announced that PTPTN borrowers earning at least RM1,000 a month would be subject to a progressive loan repayment schedule at the rate of between 2% and 15% of their monthly income.

This was in contrast to the pledge in the PH’s “Buku Harapan”, that borrowers earning less than RM4,000 a month could defer their loan repayments. Instead, the pledge now only applies to those aged 60 and above.

PTPTN chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan said he had spent months trying to find ways to accommodate the pledge, but said he did not have detailed knowledge of the country’s debt status, which the government now said stood at over a trillion ringgit.

Wan Saiful had announced over the weekend that the fund could not allow borrowers to begin servicing their loans only after their salary hit RM4,000 a month, as stated in PH’s election manifesto.

He said they had no choice as the fund was saddled with some RM40 billion in debt from defaulters. If they proceeded with the plan, he said, future students would not be able to take up loans.

The loan repayment schedule announced in the budget drove a group, comprising students from Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia, among others, to march from UM to the Parliament building yesterday as a mark of protest.

Call to consider views of opposition MPs too

Meanwhile, Hassan urged the government to consider the points raised by opposition MPs, stating that not all that had been raised in the lower house was without merit.

He cited the example of Ismail Sabri Yaakob (BN-Bera), who had debated on the budget this morning, pointing towards his credentials as a former cabinet minister.

“He is a former minister. He used to be agriculture minister, and also rural minister. I went through his speech, and in his speech, he spoke on the problems being faced by the people in the rural areas. The farmers, the rubber tappers, the small scale farmers, fishermen and livestock breeders.

“PAS MPs have also raised such issues. Similarly with Kapar (Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid) and Port Dickson (Anwar Ibrahim),” he said.

Hassan also raised the issue of the RM30 billion special dividend to be paid out by Petronas to the government, which will be utilised to fully settle the outstanding tax refunds estimated at RM37 billion comprising RM18 billion of income taxes and RM19 billion of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Hassan said while it was the government’s responsibility to pay back the refunds, he pointed out that these were big companies and businesses.

“Don’t use all of the special dividend to settle GST and income tax refunds. You can pay those back in stages.

“You can utilise part of that money and channel it to help the rubber tappers, the small scale farmers, the fishermen in the rural areas. Incentives to help the rakyat to reduce their burden,” he said.

Hassan reasoned that the prices of commodities were now too low, saying the price of rubber per kg was between RM1.84 and RM2.

“It is even lower in Sabah and Sarawak. In these times, we need to continue helping those who need help. They are used to being helped by the past government.

“Fishermen who are unable to go out to sea during the monsoon season must be helped,” he said.

Hassan also brought up a point raised by Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang), who said that sekolah agama rakyat had not been given any allocation under the budget.

“If it is true that these schools are not getting funds, I ask (for them to be given also).

“Yes, it is good to help the independent Chinese schools. But you must also help the sekolah agama rakyat that is not getting any assistance,” he added. -FMT