A father, who wished to be known only as 'Abdullah' today beseeched Mara chairperson Annuar Musa not to forget the plight of his son when the agency came to disbursing study loans.

Abdullah from Kota Baru had contacted Malaysiakini following Majlis Amanah Rakyat Musa’s announcement that the agency has approved over RM200 million in loans for 10,583 students who applied from July last year until January.

Annuar made the announcement yesterday during a ceremony at Universiti Kuala Lumpur during which he handed over approval letters for 1,940 loan applications made by students from UniKL, Mara polytechnic colleges and the German-Malaysian Institute.

He also reassured that all outstanding study loan applications made since January this year would be processed by the end of next month.

Abdullah said he heard Annuar’s announcement on the news and wondered whether the Ketereh MP was aware that there were many more students who were facing the problem of unapproved study loans.

“My son had enrolled in a trainee aircraft maintenance engineers course after finishing his SPM and the total cost of tuition fees for four years is close to RM140,000,” said Abdullah about his son, who is a second-year student at a local private aviation college.

“Since starting his course in January last year, we had tried to apply for a Mara loan but was informed that we should wait for an announcement online,” said Abdullah.

He also said there were at least 60 other students in his son’s course who were similarly waiting to confirm the status of their Mara study loan applications.

“I have been paying for my son’s fees so far but I may not be able to do so every month until he graduates.

“We have been waiting until today and there has been no response from Mara,” said Abdullah who added that they had also tried to submit a formal letter seeking clarification from Annuar’s office.

Disburse loan monthly

On Annuar’s reported reassurance that all 510 students who were forced to drop out or defer their studies due to delays in the approvals of their Mara loans could now return to class, Abdullah said there were at least six of such students at his son’s college.

“As far as I know, there are at least six students in my son’s intake who had to drop out of the course. I do not want my son to do that.

“I am not asking for a scholarship. Maybe the loan can even be disbursed every month to pay for their tuition fees,” he said in questioning whether there is some truth in concerns that Mara is facing financial difficulties due to alleged mismanagement of funds.

Malaysiakini has contacted Mara for a response. It is understood that the agency is currently verifying the status of the private aviation college located at Taman Subang Perdana, Selangor.