KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — Pakatan Harapan’s inability to deliver on its pledge to defer federal student loan repayments is disappointing as this was a key campaign platform, said DAP’s Young Syefura Othman.

The Ketari assemblyman said she was personally upset by the announcement made by National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan today.

"I believe young voters who voted for us focussing on that promise will feel disappointed as well. 

"Surely it will affect the government’s popularity among the youth, but I hope we can come out with more viable solutions as soon as possible,” she told Malay Mail. 

Earlier, Wan Saiful said it was not possible to honour the pledge to delay repayment for PTPTN borrowers until they begin earning more than RM4,000 a month as Malaysia’s finances were not robust enough to support this.

He also added that some RM40 billion still owed to PTPTN would be a burden on a national level and that failure to repay this would deny future students from pursuing their tertiary education.

Rara said she took Wan Saiful’s statement positively and expressed confidence he will eventually find a way to ease the burden of existing borrowers. 

She also pointed out that clarifications should be done for the allocations meant for PTPTN as announced in Budget 2019.