There are successful people in the country who refused to settle their student loans despite being reminded repeatedly to do so, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said today.

These people, he said, are being selfish and ungrateful.

"They get a fat pay, drive big cars, their wives are also big, and yet, not only don't they contribute to their alma mater but they also don't settle their debts," Najib was quoted as saying by Bernama after officiating a Yayasan Budiman Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) event in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Earlier, the deputy premier said that students who have achieved success should cultivate the culture of contributing to the institutions that have helped them.

Not taken root

Unfortunately, he said, the tradition of contributing to their alma mater had not taken root in Malaysia, unlike in countries like the United States where former students were prepared to bequeath part of their estate to their alumni association and alma mater.

Najib said institutions like UiTM had contributed a lot by providing students from various backgrounds with the opportunity to alter their status and attain a bright future.

UiTM had contributed to the stability and wellbeing of the country because it had produced successful Malays and bumiputeras, he said.

He said UiTM's Yayasan Budiman was an example of an effort that could raise awareness of the importance of the institution that had done a lot for its former students.