By DayakDaily Team
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4: The federal government will review a policy granting loan repayment exemptions to previous National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowers who graduated with first-class honours degrees.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the review would take into account fairness to borrowers while ensuring the sustainability of the country’s education financing policy.
“We will continue to review PTPTN’s policy to ensure that assistance is targeted and provided only to those who genuinely need it. Any exemptions will also be assessed in line with this policy,” he said when winding up the committee-stage debate on the Supply Bill 2027 (Budget 2027) for the Finance Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 3).
During the winding-up session, Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Stampin) raised concerns over borrowers who took out PTPTN loans in 2025 or earlier, arguing that changes to the eligibility requirements breached the terms of their existing agreements.
He said previous loan agreements explicitly provided for repayment exemptions for borrowers who graduated with first-class honours, and urged the government to honour the provision for existing borrowers pending the announcement of a new policy.
On other measures to ease graduates’ repayment burden, Amir Hamzah said PTPTN borrowers earning RM2,500 or less a month were allowed to defer repayments, while those earning between RM2,501 and RM3,000 were required to make minimum monthly payments of RM50 to ease their transition into the workforce.
He added that borrowers who made regular repayments without falling into arrears were eligible for a 10 per cent discount.
Meanwhile, employers who assisted in repaying their employees’ PTPTN loans would qualify for tax deductions from Jan 1, 2027, to Dec 31, 2028.
The Dewan Rakyat subsequently approved the Finance Ministry’s estimated 2027 operating and development expenditure of RM68,159,895,600 under Budget 2027 through a voice vote, following debate by 27 MPs. — Bernama
