Owning a home will help CCRIS-listed borrowers manage their money, says minister

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

KUALA LUMPUR: Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin says the prospect of owning a home will encourage National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers listed in the country’s credit reference system to manage their finances in order to pay both their housing and student loans.

Speaking to reporters after launching a new housing portal known as Hi Homes, Zuraida said listing PTPTN borrowers in the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) is a blanket policy.

However, this does not mean that those listed in the system are not creditworthy when it comes to purchasing houses, she added.

“CCRIS is just an information scheme to see a person’s creditworthiness. Banks are still free to approve or disapprove loan applications,” she said after the event at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre here.

She added that her ministry would work out a mechanism to remove affected PTPTN borrowers from the CCRIS list once PTPTN finalises its new repayment scheme.

The PTPTN website states that all borrowers who are supposed to make repayments following the 12-month expiry of their loans will be listed in CCRIS. To avoid being listed, borrowers must make payments on a regular basis.

When asked about concerns that PTPTN defaulters may not have the discipline to repay housing loans, which are larger than home loans, Zuraida said she believed the prospect of homeownership would be an incentive.

“I think to own a house as opposed to paying a RM50 PTPTN loan is more attractive, so with the ability to own a house, it would also discipline them to start paying for houses that they want to stay in long-term and discipline their financial management.

“This is what we are trying to inculcate, the habit in young ones to start young – to own houses and to be disciplined in financial payments. The reward is, they have a home.”

She said better financial discipline would allow borrowers to manage both their home and student loans.

When asked why the government was determined to encourage homeownership among the youth, Zuraida said Putrajaya was giving youth options, including through rent-to-own schemes.

Earlier, in her speech at the launch, Zuraida spoke of a need to change trends so that people consider owning property at a young age.

“Yesterday when I launched the Fund My Home programme, a 22-year-old girl would be able to own a house with that programme,” she said.

“So if this young group of people can discipline themselves at a young age, from as young as 22, in 10 years’ time you would be the proud owner of a piece of property.”

Once the market price goes up, she added, the property could be sold for a higher price which would allow the owner to upgrade to a bigger and more comfortable home. - FMT