PTPTN loan repayment deferred until December - Noraini

The government has agreed to extend the loan repayment period of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) for another three months to all borrowers from Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2020.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad said that the deferment involved an estimated total repayment of RM375 million, making a total estimated deferral of repayment of RM1.13 billion.

“PTPTN also helps reduce the burden or commitment to repay the loan by always being open to negotiate to restructure the repayment (of the loan) until the age of 60 and deferring the repayment of the loan up to a maximum of 24 months,” she said.

She said this while winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's royal address at the Dewan Rakyat sitting here today.

In a separate statement on the same issue, Noraini said all PTPTN borrowers would be given an extension of the deferment of loan repayment automatically without having to make any application unlike the previous implementation (of the deferment).

However, she said if there are borrowers who want to continue the loan repayment, they can do so through the online repayment channel provided.

Meanwhile, Noraini said that the government was also of the view that the implementation of the repayment method based on income was unsuitable to be implemented after taking into account the total repayment compared with the amount of loans that have yet to be repaid.

She said this in her reply to an interjection by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Independent-Muar) who wanted to know whether the government would continue the PTPTN repayment scheme (mooted by the previous administration) for the borrowers to start repayments only when their monthly salary reached more than RM4,000.

She said that the scheduled salary deduction method according to the existing monthly instalment rate was identified as a more suitable method to be implemented to ensure a simpler and more efficient collection process.

“The ministry takes into account the current economic situation and financial position. However, the government will always identify the best approach for loan repayment that does not burden the borrower… but at the same time we will also safeguard the interests of PTPTN, we have to balance both,” she said.

-- BERNAMA