About 300 students marched to the PTPTN head office in Kuala Lumpur today to protest the loan repayment policy that was announced in the Budget 2019 speech.
Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam (Gamis) executive committee member Yazid Khairul said that the march served as a “warning” to the Pakatan Harapan government for breaking its promises to students.
“We want to remind them (Harapan) of its PTPTN promise (in its 14th general election manifesto) and we want to save the country.
“We don’t want leaders who are hypocrites and who break their promises. If they break their promises, they are not worth saving (in the next election).
“Then the rakyat should kick them out of Putrajaya. Students voted for Harapan because of their GE14 promises,” he told reporters.
Harapan’s election manifesto had promised to delay PTPTN loan repayments until debtors earned more than RM4,000 monthly, and further offered to discount and abolish repayments to underprivileged and high-performing students.
It had also promised to remove loan defaulters from the Immigration Department's travel blacklist.
While the latter pledge was kept, the Budget 2019 speech stipulated that loan repayments would begin when debtors earned RM1,000 and above.
Mostly dressed in black, the students held up signs saying “Tuntut janji PTPTN” (Claiming the PTPTN promise) and chanted “Bangkit mahasiswa” (Students rise up) and “Tolak kezaliman” (Reject tyranny).
They also called for the resignation of Education Minister Maszlee Malik.
[More to follow] - Mkini
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