PTPTN loan repayment among civil servants increases by 20 percent

The total amount of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan repayment made by its borrowers among civil servants has increased by 20 per cent after the recent implementation of the mandatory salary deduction.

PTPTN Marketing and Strategic Communications chief officer Mastura Mohd Khalid said as of Oct 20 last year, only nine per cent of borrowers in the civil service had paid back their loans.

"After the recent implementation of mandatory salary deduction and as at Jan 4 this year, the amount of loan repayment involving borrowers in the civil service has increased by 20 per cent," she told Bernama after appearing on Bernama Radio 24's 'On the Radar' programme here on Tuesday.

She said in December last year, PTPTN managed to collect more than RM130 million in loan repayment, an increase of 38 per cent from the previous month.

"We hope this can be a new starting point for borrowers to repay their loans in a consistent manner," she said.

Mastura said the mandatory salary deduction was among the last options taken by the PTPTN after the borrowers failed to repay their loans using any other available loan repayment methods.

"The mandatory salary deduction is only imposed on those who have never made a repayment. They had been given a repayment period of between 10 to 15 years, but they never paid.

"When there is only one year left to repay the loan with PTPTN, this is what causes the amount required to be paid back to be high," she said.