No promotion for defaulters

The Star

By SARBAN SINGH

SEREMBAN: Hardcore study loan defaulters serving in civil service will not be considered for promotions.

This means those blacklisted by the Public Service Department, National Higher Education Fund Corp (PTPTN), Mara and other government-linked corporations will not be promoted until they settle their loans.

The PSD is expected to issue a directive to this effect this week.

A PSD official said the measure was necessary as study loan defaulters were still refusing to pay up despite repeated reminders.

“We decided that they should be severely punished for ignoring our reminders and notices,” the official said.

It is learnt that the defaulters owed the Government more than RM1bil. As of March, 438,775 owed the PTPTN some RM920mil.

Since it was established in 1997, the PTPTN has given out RM12.6bil in loans to students for diploma and degree courses.

The Higher Education Ministry has identified 40,573 borrowers who are working in government agencies or government-linked companies, who had taken loans from PTPTN.

As for the PSD, close to 15,000 borrowers owed it some RM300mil as of March. The amount owed to Mara was RM200mil.

“We need to get these people to pay up so that others could benefit from the study loans as well,” said the PSD source.

The PSD had given out RM3.03bil in study loans to some 145,000 students from 1987 to 2004.