Student group Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis) has objected to the repayment scheme via salary deduction, deeming the initiative burdensome for students and low-income earners.
Gamis president Muhammad Faizzuddin Mohd Zai stated that today's youth are already weighed down by the rising costs of living, reduced value of the ringgit, fewer employment opportunities as well as low salaries for fresh graduates.
"It's a policy that is burdensome for the youth, especially young graduates who must tighten their belts to live independently upon completing their studies.
"It is as though the Harapan government has forgotten its struggles to defend the fate of graduates and the low-income group, now that they are enjoying high salaries after becoming ministers in cabinet," he said in a statement today.
He added this would cause families from low-income households to be reluctant to send their children to institutions of higher learning.
The government should, he said, abolish the PTPTN loans for all Malaysians, slash ministers’ as well as GLC CEOs’ salaries, and instead establish a “national education wakaf (endowment) fund” to bear the nation's educational costs.
In Budget 2019, the federal government announced that PTPTN borrowers would be making payment through deductions of between two and 15 percent of their salaries, based on their monthly income rates. This system is only applicable to borrowers earning more than RM1,000 a month.
It also promised tax breaks for companies that help their employees repay PTPTN loans for the year ending 2019.
Meanwhile, the remainder of loans for borrowers aged above 60 and earning less than RM4,000 a month have been waived, at a cost of RM4.2 million, benefiting 350 borrowers.
Earlier today, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak took aim at the government announcement that discounts on the loans will be accorded to students from low-income B40 households who obtain first-class honours in their studies, questioning why students from middle-income M40 group were left out.
He had said: "Isn't such exemption part of the free education promised by the Harapan government themselves?
Meanwhile, Harapan senator Yusmadi Yusoff (photo) noted there were some measures on PTPTN but said he was disappointed at the government's approach.
He said that varsity students were important stakeholders for Harapan and urged consultation with them.
"I think the proposal (for automatic repayment for salaries above RM1,000) should be reviewed.
"Borrowers have a responsibility to repay but it should not be treated as a normal loan.
"They are important stakeholders who must be consulted," he said.
