The government should be sensitive to the challenges faced by National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers in repaying their study loans, said Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

In a statement today, Nik Nazmi said that although he respects Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the country's leader, he disagrees with the premier's remark that PTPTN borrowers who fail to repay their loans are untrustworthy.

"I respect Dr Mahathir as the prime minister and understand the country's economic situation, but in this matter, I would like to voice out my opinion, which is 'slightly different'.

"We cannot 'punish' all PTPTN borrowers who fail to repay their loans, as not all of them can be lumped together in one category.

"There are graduates who are still jobless, and those with low starting pays,” he said.

The PKR Youth chief also said that there were borrowers from the urban poor as well as hardcore poor groups.

"Commonly, these groups face difficulty in paying back as they have many 'burdens', such as supporting their families after graduating,” he said, adding that the local culture dictates that one had to support the family upon graduating.

He was responding to a remark by Mahathir yesterday about being ashamed of PTPTN borrowers who fail to repay their loans.

Not paying off debts shows that a person is not trustworthy, the prime minister added, noting that PTPTN had accrued RM36 billion in unpaid loans by borrowers.

'Not fair to brand borrowers'

Nik Nazmi stressed that it is unfair to label graduates, including PTPTN borrowers, as untrustworthy, given that the government is in the midst of fixing the country's economy.

“Until we can provide more job opportunities, better starting salaries and understand the 'real problems' of borrowers - it is unfair to brand them as untrustworthy.

“Our education system is also problematic, with the focus being on building more private higher education institutes when public universities are not fully developed, and education allocation, as well as scholarships, having shrunk in recent years.

“Therefore, many school leavers have no choice but to attend private colleges to further their studies,” he said.

Nik Nazmi then pointed out Harapan's related pledges in its election manifesto.

“In 'Buku Harapan', we have focused on creating high-paying jobs, increasing the minimum salary in five years, and postponing PTPTN repayment for those who earn below RM4,000 a month. Similar models are used in countries like Australia and Britain," he added.

Harapan's promise on postponing the loan repayment was one of 10 the coalition had pledged to fulfil within 100 days of forming the federal government.

However, this policy has yet to be enforced as the government continues to work out a mechanism for implementation.