KUALA LUMPUR: The lackadaisical attitude towards repaying study loans by the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) should not be allowed to prevail any longer.
Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities president Datuk Parmjit Singh said such indifference and shirking of responsibilities could threaten the integrity of the country's education system.
"It is unfortunate that the total PTPTN debt has ballooned to an astronomical sum of RM6 billion and it should not have been allowed to grow to this level.
"This lackadaisical attitude among graduates should not be tolerated any longer as this is not an attitude that our education process should foster.
"It is morally wrong to have benefited from the loan and then fail to repay it as agreed in the application and disbursement process. It is selfish as it deprives future generations of the opportunity to benefit from it," he said today.
Parmjit, who is a member of the Higher Education National Review Committee (NRC), said this when asked to comment on the 430,000 borrowers who never made repayments.
Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir announced that PTPTN would take action against these 430,000 borrowers, many of whom had graduated decades ago.
He said the irresponsible attitude of these individuals had jeopardised PTPTN's financial position, prompting it to take follow-up action, including legal action against defaulters.
Zambry, however, emphasised that PTPTN would remain considerate given the current economic situation.
Parmjit lauded the move to take legal action to recover PTPTN's debts.
"It is magnanimous of the minister to still offer debtors an opportunity to discuss any circumstances with PTPTN that may be preventing them from repaying their loans. This has been repeatedly offered in the past."
Previously, the government through several yearly budgets had announced discounts of up to 20 per cent for borrowers who settled their loans.
PTPTN itself launched various campaigns and repayment negotiations, including the ujrah conversion, loan consolidation, and rescheduling or restructuring to encourage borrowers to repay their loans.
Parmjit said last year, the NRC recommended making PTPTN loan repayments a mandatory deduction for income earned, which was a model used by other countries such as Australia.
"The repayment quantum can also be calibrated based upon the income earned. In this way, it will not burden those earning a lower income.
"Furthermore, the deductions may commence beyond a certain threshold so that those earning below that level will not be subjected to any deductions until they cross that threshold."
In Australia, in the 2024-25 income year, the compulsory repayment must be made when the borrowers earned more than the compulsory repayment threshold of A$54,435.
According to the www.studyassist.gov.au, the repayment percentage stood at one per cent for those earning between A$54,435 and A$62,850. (https://www.studyassist.gov.au/managing-and-repaying-your-loan/loan-repa...)
It stated that the more one earned, the higher the compulsory repayment would become, with the percentage between one to 10 per cent.
For those earning A$159,664 and above, the repayment percentage stood at the highest 10 per cent.