MARCH 5 — Among the many things that Pakatan Harapan had promised in its manifesto and failed to fulfill is to abolish PTPTN loans. And it cannot be denied that the failure to fulfill this particular promise is one of the reasons why Pakatan is losing its popularity.
It was ironic that Pakatan Harapan had vowed to abolish PTPTN before the May 9 general election and even incited students to not repay their loans but are now insisting that those who owe PTPTN money pay back under strict repayment methods.
When Pakatan Harapan was in the Opposition, they had organised many rallies for various issues. Among said rallies, one of the most successful rallies that drew crowds was the rally to abolish PTPTN. The rally to abolish PTPTN managed to attract the attention of the young generation as such a pledge could ease their current debt problems in a big way.
But what actually transpired was the proposal for the scheduled salary deduction scheme or the Income-Contingent Loan Repayment scheme for all PTPTN borrowers. Thanks to enormous public criticism, the scheme has been suspended at the moment.
What is hindering the government today from fulfilling their pledge to do away with the PTPTN loans?
Is it the disputable RM1 trillion in debts or the lack of reasonable alternatives to abolish the student loans altogether? Before GE14, even the former mentri besar of Selangor Azmin Ali said Malaysia had the capacity and income to provide free education. Now being the economic minister, when can this be realised?
Anyhow, the problem today stems from the fact that it was the government that spread the belief of the possibility of free education in this country by abolishing PTPTN.
As such, whatever the problem may be, what is solemnly clear is that the Pakatan government has to find a solution for the issue to curb the growing restlessness among the youths and to help them face an increasingly volatile economy.
I have raised this issue before, considered the fact that the PTPTN is a rolling fund, if nobody pays back, then there will not be any cash to pass on to the next batch of students wanting to study in tertiary institutions. According to the Education Ministry, PTPTN loan repayments had dropped from RM351 million in January 2017 to RM297 million a year later.
We can borrow and spend lavishly to build spanking new dwellings, but we cannot let our young focus on education without having to worry about re-payments and in being disheartened because no education loan prospects are within sight.
In order to appease the youths today and also safeguard the PTPTN funds from being exhausted for the future generation, a common ground has to be found.
One of the ways is to fulfill another one of its manifesto pledges which is to raise salaries. This is because with sufficient income, those who have taken loan from PTPTN would be more than willing to pay back. And when the government goes after the defaulters after this step has been taken, it would not be seen as a form of oppression from the government.
Next, the government should conjure a scheme whereby a particular percentage of discount is given when a particular merit-based target is met. By encouraging such a scheme, it would help the students strive for better results. With better results, they would be able to gain employment without any fuss.
Thus, the government would be able to handle the unemployment rate by implementing this step as well.
Keeping in mind the wellbeing of the rakyat, the Pakatan government should also re-implement the merit-based repayment policy for the greater good of youths today.
The solutions to this PTPTN issue are aplenty. There is no reason for any party to have a go at each other rather than come up with a common solution to the said problem.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
