Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said restricting travel abroad against borrowers who fail to repay loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) are not appropriate.

She said the government has yet to make any decision on the matter and the proposed restriction should be reviewed.

“We haven’t made any decision. When did we discuss it? PTPTN has provided space and opportunities for the students to pursue higher studies but there is a handful who did not service their PTPTN study loans (after completing their studies).

“So rolling money is tough for PTPTN but to impose travel restrictions is not a wise thing to do. It needs to be reviewed, after all, we too protested the travel restrictions before,” she said.

The Pandan MP told this to reporters after attending a breaking of fast event for disabled people organised by the Pandan Indah Constituency Service Centre and Selangor Ehsan Ummah Welfare Organisation in Kuala Lumpur today.

PTPTN chairperson Wan Saiful Wan Jan was reported earlier to have said that re-imposing the travel ban on errant borrowers was among the ideas submitted as a result of PTPTN’s ongoing public engagement sessions.

Meanwhile, in Jerlun, Wan Saiful urged the public to channel feedback to PTPTN via the right channel, namely Kertas Konsultasi Rakyat (KKR) which is provided on its official website.

Speaking to reporters after a PTPTN Ramadan programme, he said PTPTN could only act on feedback provided via that platform as it did not pay heed to what was said about the corporation on social media platforms.

However, he said the people were to free to have their say (about PTPTN) on Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp or other mediums.

- Bernama