PETALING JAYA: A former student activist who campaigned for fairer repayment terms for borrowers of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has warned Pakatan Harapan (PH) against reversing its decision to remove a travel ban imposed on defaulters by the previous government.
Adam Adli had strong words for PTPTN chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who yesterday suggested that the fund could reintroduce the travel ban which was lifted on tens of thousands of defaulters of the study loan as part of PH’s manifesto promise.
“He has lost it,” Adam told FMT, saying Wan Saiful was not prioritising the people’s interest.
“The government or ministry should consider replacing him. He doesn’t know how to handle it,” he added. “He does not understand the students, he only understands that PTPTN has debts that needs to be settled.”
Yesterday, Wan Saiful said PTPTN would not rule out the possibility of restoring the travel ban.
“If the people are for it, we will bring it up to the Cabinet, but the decision is not in our hands,” he said, adding that the travel ban was one of the most effective means of getting defaulters to service their loans.
Ultimately, he said, the decision would be Putrajaya’s.
But another youth activist, Sharan Raj, said the travel ban was never proven effective.
“Barisan Nasional implemented the travel ban in 2014 but the PTPTN repayment amount was still around 45% based on PTPTN’s annual report,” the PSM Youth vice-leader said.
“The repayment rate only increased by 0.7% in 2015.”
He said many Malaysians were now forced to seek employment abroad, adding that the travel ban would prevent defaulters from seeking a higher income that would allow them to repay their loans.
“Rather than imposing a travel ban, PTPTN should clean up its books and remove the ‘ujrah’ so borrowers only pay their principle amount,” he said, referring to the 1% service charge imposed on borrowers.
Former Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Ghauth Othman agreed, saying the travel ban had little impact on defaulters.
“The only action that will have a significant impact is legal action against borrowers and guarantors with the possibility of bankruptcy proceedings if the loan is not recovered,” he told FMT.
He said many could not repay their loans due to financial constraints, adding that the RM4,000 salary threshold before borrowers are obligated to repay the study loan is justified.
“I think the travel ban should be imposed on those with salaries above the RM4,000 threshold,” he said.
He added that the government had yet to announced a long-term solution to ensure the fund’s sustainability.
In the meantime, Adam said PTPTN should abide by the government’s policies.
He said if Wan Saiful could not implement PH’s policies, he should quit his post.
“We don’t deny his right to think as the chairman of the organisation, but what are his efforts to provide a win-win solution for both sides?” he asked.
Adam also criticised the new policy of not giving discounts to borrowers who pass with first-class honours.
The government announced last year that the discount would only be applicable to poor students from the B40 category. In Budget 2019, it was also announced that companies helping their employees repay their PTPTN loans would be given tax breaks.
Meanwhile, Wan Saiful said the proposal to reintroduce the travel ban was not PTPTN’s idea but among those gathered from the public.
He added that it would be presented to the Cabinet for a decision.
“There are also ideas for the deferment of payment and paying back loans based on income levels,” he told FMT.
He voiced regret over media reports which made it seem as if the proposal to bring back the travel ban was the only idea, or raised by PTPTN.
He also urged the public to go through all the information from the consultation exercise available on PTPTN’s website.
“In the context of the new Malaysia, this is my small contribution to creating a more people-centric and consultative policy development culture,” he said. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.