KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — More than half of the 622,768 Malaysians who have been blacklisted between 2010 and last January from overseas travel are borrowers of the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN), the Immigration Department said.
Local daily Berita Harian quoted Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali as saying that 315,458 individuals were put on the blacklist because they failed to service their PTPTN loans for tertiary education.
This was followed by those blacklisted by the Malaysia Department of Insolvency (123,592 people), the Inland Revenue Board (99,817), the National Registration Department (65,883), the Employees Provident Fund (6,837), the police (5,792), and the Customs Department (1,925).
“For the total numbers of others blacklisted [by these agencies]: the Immigration Department (1,292), court cases (970), the Prisons Department for parole cases (387), the Foreign Ministry (126) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (99),” Mustafar was quoted saying.
National newswire Bernama quoted PTPTN deputy chief executive Mastura Mohd Khalid as saying last April that some 1.3 million PTPTN borrowers have actively made repayments for their loans, but RM7.9 billion was still owed by about 600,000 borrowers who have to yet to make repayments.
