KUALA LUMPUR: National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan today urged loan defaulters to think of the future generations who need money to further their studies.
Speaking to reporters after a briefing on the new PTPTN repayment mechanism, Wan Saiful said those who still evaded repaying their loans remained subject to Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) blacklisting and legal action.
He was responding to a question on the possibility that borrowers who are not formally employed will evade repaying their loans.
Under the new repayment mechanism, employees who have PTPTN loans will have a percentage of their salaries deducted by their employers to repay their loans.
Those who are not formally employed are required to verify their income information on PTPTN’s website to enjoy the repayment facilities according to their income.
When asked about the possibility of unemployed borrowers, or housewives or house husbands whose spouses were well off, evading repayment as they had no income, Wan Saiful said PTPTN was looking to close any loopholes in repayment.
“On principle, borrowers must repay their loans, so I hope it can be resolved at the household level.
“But we are looking into this matter.”
Wan Saiful also said PTPTN would be working with the Employees Provident Fund, Inland Revenue Board, Retirement Fund Inc, Immigration Department, Companies Commission of Malaysia, the Accountant General’s Department and Urusan Gaji Angkatan Tentera to implement the new repayment scheme.
On the issue of the annual 1% administration fee imposed on borrowers, Wan Saiful said PTPTN had yet to decide on its abolishment.
He also said there would no longer be any discounts for lump sum payments of loans starting next year, as the amount borrowers needed to pay beginning from 2019 was mandatory and lower than the previous mechanism.
“The discount ends on Dec 31. After this there will be no more discounts.
“Now we are seeing many people rushing to settle their loans to enjoy the discounts.”
He said those who still face issues in repaying their loans after the new mechanism kicks in could reach out to PTPTN.
“These are for special cases,” he added.
Wan Saiful said 1.4 million people were still in debt to PTPTN, including those who repaid their loans regularly, inconsistently or who didn’t pay at all.
With the new mechanism set to take effect in January, Wan Saiful urged all borrowers to update their contact details so that PTPTN could inform them of the amount they would need to pay. - FMT
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