PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim has proposed that the government abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans for poor students and reinstate the initial monthly Budi95 fuel subsidy quota to 300 litres, provided the country can afford it.
Kamil stressed that the proposed student loan waiver would not be a blanket policy, but would apply only to those who genuinely require financial assistance.
"Parental poverty should not be a punishment for a child's future. Education must be a way out of poverty, not a way into lifelong debt," he said in his speech at the opening of the wing's annual congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre last night.
Last month, DAP's Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong pointedly asked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim whether Pakatan Harapan should revisit its long-standing pledge to abolish the loan scheme, amid lingering voter frustration over unfulfilled election promises.
Khoo pointed out that BN had weaponised the issue during the Johor state election, which saw yet another dismal showing by Harapan, following its embarrassing performance in the Sabah state election last year.
In a short response to Khoo, Anwar said the issue of abolishing PTPTN will be discussed with Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir.
'Sorry, we can't deliver'
Kamil’s call comes as Harapan’s unfulfilled PTPTN pledge from 2018 continues to haunt the coalition.
In 2018, then PTPTN chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan apologised for Harapan's failure to deliver on its promise to defer repayments from borrowers earning less than RM4,000 a month, citing the country's debt and the need to fund loans for new students.
The PTPTN deferment was the sixth of the 10 promises Harapan pledged to fulfil in its first 100 days in office, a timeline that ended on Aug 17.
Under Budget 2019, in a contradictory move, the Harapan government introduced a progressive PTPTN repayment schedule, requiring borrowers earning at least RM1,000 a month to repay between two percent and 15 percent of their monthly income through salary deductions.
For the 2022 general election, Harapan pledged a targeted study loan write-off for borrowers from the B40 income group and the poor.
Harapan supporters have repeatedly criticised Anwar and the coalition for failing to deliver on promised reforms, while the constraints of governing under a unity government are often cited as a reason for the delay in implementing such measures.
300 litre cap, 350 litre for 'high mobility' group
In calling for the reinstatement of the 300-litre Budi95 cap, Kamil said that while he accepted the government’s rationale for targeted subsidies and fiscal discipline, policies should not remain fixed when circumstances change.
He also proposed increasing that quota to 350 litres for "high-mobility" groups.
On April 1, the government reduced the standard monthly quota from 300 litres to 200 litres after the conflict in West Asia caused a surge in global fuel prices.
"The youth wing proposes that when global oil prices ease and fiscal space permits, the limit should be restored to at least 300 litres a month, with consideration given to increasing it to 350 litres for groups with high mobility needs, based on clear data.
"We are not asking for unlimited subsidies - we are requesting policies that understand the lives of the people, because subsidy reform must go hand in hand with reform to benefit the people.
"If the people are asked to sacrifice, the people deserve to see dividends from that sacrifice," said Kamil, who is also Anwar's political secretary.
According to the Finance Ministry's FAQ guide, e-hailing drivers and airport taxis have a quota up to 800 litres.
However, groups such as journalists have requested an increased monthly quota due to the need to commute long distances for work.
Address cost-of-living issues
In his speech, Kamil also urged the government to address cost-of-living issues, including housing affordability as well as jobs and wages.
Housing programmes should take into account the needs of gig workers as well as those of other professions who lack a traditional monthly pay slip, he added.
Additionally, he said affordable housing should be placed close to jobs, transportation, and amenities.
"We want the youths to move from education to employment, from employment to income, from income to ownership and beyond, and then from ownership to the ability to build the generation after them," he said.
Further, he highlighted the needs of the bumiputera community, saying the focus should be on the effectiveness of policies aimed at uplifting the community.
He said the key to improving Malay economic mobility lay in ownership.
"We don't want a generation that is always waiting for allocations. We want a generation that owns houses, land, shares, companies, intellectual property, technology, high-value skills," Kamil said. - Mkini
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