PTPTN must not cause financial stress — Fomca

KUCHING: The National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( PTPTN) must take into account the minimum income needed for a household or individual to be free of severe financial stress before enforcing mandatory deductions on borrowers.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association ( Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman cited a recent study by Bank Negara Malaysia, which revealed that the living wage for Kuala Lumpur is RM2,700.

“If the person is still earning RM2,000 and lives in the city, he or she is likely to be struggling to make ends meet,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday when commenting on PTPTN’s plan to deduct student loans directly from borrowers’ salaries.

“I fully support that every PTPTN borrower must repay their loan, but the question now is RM50 can mean a lot to people living in the city, especially those with financial commitments.”

Mohd Yusof stressed that Pakatan Harapan ( PH) leaders must remember their own promise of no deductions until borrowers earn RM4,000.

PTPTN chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan had confirmed during a media briefing in July that borrowers with salaries below RM4,000 a month could defer repaying their study loans.

However, Wan Saiful announced on Wednesday that the agency would deduct the wages of borrowers earning above RM2,000 monthly at tiered rates ranging from 2 per cent to 15 per cent.

Mohd Yusof said Wan Saiful should discuss the issue with all stakeholders and focus on collecting payment from borrowers who have succeeded but still insisted on not paying.

“PTPTN must have the right focus, don’t pressure people who are recent graduates with small salaries and have little means to pay. PTPTN instead must chase those who are now earning big salaries but refusing to pay,” he said.

He stressed the government must conduct a detailed study to find out whether the mandatory salary deduction is legal and, most importantly, can be carried without causing unnecessary burden on both borrowers and their employers.

“Salary deduction can only be implemented with prior consent of the borrower (employee) and employers cannot simply deduct salaries. If we want to force people to pay this will create bigger problems.

“If people want to pay, negotiate with them. How much can they afford? Maybe RM30, RM40 or RM50 per month. That will be better than the current plan where people are not paying anything at all,” he said.

According to Mohd Yusof, the people are finding it rather comical that PH leaders are forcing borrowers to pay study loans when they were the ones who campaigned against paying PTPTN loans.

“People will go back to PH’s manifesto. So, PTPTN must focus on collecting payment from people who can afford to pay, not otherwise,” he said.