The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) is hopeful that 20 percent of its debtors will take advantage of a 20 percent discount being offered for payment in a lump sum.

NONE PTPTN chief executive officer Agos Chulan (right) told reporters at the Parliament lobby today that this would involve RM962 million, which is to be offset by the Finance Ministry.

With the discount, PTPTN hopes to boost its repayment rate from the current 49 percent to 70 percent.

PTPTN chairperson Ismail Mohamed Said said that, to date, 424 debtors have applied to settle their loans in a lump sum to take advantage of the discount, announced in the Budget 2013 speech last month.

He said that and 179 applications and loans worth RM1.7 million had been processed from Oct 1 to 9.

“This amounts to a discount of RM325,809 (and) is the government's gift to the (debtors)," said Ismail who is also BN's Kuala Krau MP.

The scheme also offers a 10 percent rebate to those who repay their loans consistently.

None of those taking advantage of the discount have been blacklisted, Ismail said.

‘How strategy works’

To date, 132, 801 people have been barred from leaving the country due to their PTPTN debts, although they are not blacklisted against taking loans from financial institutions.

NONE Ismail (left) said 28,850 of the debtors have started repaying their loans after finding out that they have been barred by the Immigration Department from travelling abroad.

"This shows that the strategy works," he noted.

As at Aug 31, PTPTN had recorded RM7.83 billion in loan arrears, while RM3.48 billion had been repaid.

PTPTN has not received a response from 319,129 debtors who collectively owe RM2.1 billion.

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