Potong gaji bayar PTPTN

Usaha pastikan pinjam dijelas secara konsisten mulai Jun depan

Semua peminjam Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) diwajibkan membuat bayaran pinjaman menerusi potongan gaji mulai Jun tahun depan, kata Pengerusinya, Datuk Ismail Mohd Said.Beliau berkata, ia usaha terbaru perbadanan berkenaan bagi memastikan peminjam membayar balik pinjaman secara konsisten pada masa depan.

Kita akan memperhalusi perkara ini pada mesyuarat ahli lembaga hujung bulan ini, termasuk aspek teknikal dan pindaan Akta PTPTN 1997 yang akan dibentangkan di Dewan Rakyat selewat-lewatnya awal tahun depan.

Kita juga akan menunggu keputusan kerajaan berhubung gaji minimum yang akan ditetapkan kepada peminjam sebelum potongan gaji dilakukan, katanya kepada media pada Rumah Terbuka Aidilfitri Parlimen Kuala Krau dan UMNO bahagian itu, di sini, semalam.

Hadir sama Pemangku Ketua Eksekutif PTPTN, Wan Ahmad Wan Yusuf.

Ismail yang baru dilantik jawatan itu pada 1 September lalu berkata, cadangan itu perlu memandangkan konsep pembayaran balik secara sukarela oleh peminjam sebelum ini gagal mencapai matlamatnya.

Malah, katanya, potongan gaji menerusi Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) secara sukarela juga kurang menggalakkan dan hanya menyumbangkan kira-kira 20 peratus daripada jumlah pembayaran balik daripada peminjam.

Beliau berkata, sehingga Julai lalu, bayaran balik yang diperoleh PTPTN daripada RM23 bilion yang diperuntukkan sejak 1997 ialah RM1.8 bilion berbanding RM3.6 bilion sepatutnya diterima.

Dalam tempoh sama, hanya 600,000 peminjam membayar balik daripada 1.6 juta peminjam PTPTN dan masih ramai peminjam yang kurang komitmen untuk membayar balik pinjaman masing-masing, katanya.

Compulsory salary deduction

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) will carry out compulsory salary deduction to recover loans from defaulters from June next year.

Its chairman, Datuk Ismail Mohamed Said, said that effective June next year, all PTPTN borrowers, especially the more than 46,000 defaulters, would be required to make their loan repayments through salary deduction to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

He said its implementation would involve amendments to the National Higher Education Fund Act 1997, adding that a proposal to amend the law would be tabled in Parliament next year.

“We will discuss the proposed amendments to the PTPTN Act at the end of the month with the IRB and the proposal will be tabled in Parliament in March next year,” he told reporters at a Aidifiltri gathering here yesterday.

He said the corporation would also wait for the government’s decision on the minimum salary requirement for the compulsory salary deduction on PTPTN borrowers.

Such a move had to be taken so as not to deprive others the opportunity to obtain PTPTN loans to further their studies, he added.

He said about 46,000 of the 1.6 million people who had obtained PTPTN loans had yet to make their repayments despite the facilities made available for them, like through salary deductions, at bank counters and through on-line payments.

Ismail said that since 1997 until July this year, PTPTN had given out loans totalling RM23 billion.

“As of last July, we should have collected RM3.6 billion in loan repayment, but the collection was only RM1.8 billion,” he added.

He said only 42 per cent or 600,000 of the 1.6 million PTPTN borrowers had repaid their loans so far. — Bernama


Compulsory salary deduction