Stop politicising issues on educational loan, says academician

KUCHING (Oct 24): Educational loans available in the country, particularly the National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN), should never be politicised, said academician Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow.

The Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia Faculty of Syariah and Law associate professor stressed that educational loan issues should not be brought up in any political campaign or election manifesto since this could send debtors the wrong signal.

“It is sad to see that certain politicians like to use this issue as part of their attempt to win over voters as election season approaches.

“Unlike other types of loans, educational loans are considered a sensitive matter as most of the debtors are young people,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Muzaffar added that since an educational loan is normally the first formal loan a young person has to take out in their life, they should be taught at an early age to be more disciplined and responsible with their money and all of their loans.

“After finishing their studies, they will need to take out many other loans in order to survive. If they are unable to pay off their educational loans on their own throughout their early years, how will they deal with other loan types in the future?

“Moreover, we cannot guarantee that the candidate who made such a promise would be able to win the election in the first place and fulfil all their sweet promises, including the one to ease the educational loan burden.

“As a result, debtors will adopt a wait-and-see approach by simply putting off or ignoring to pay back their educational loan,” he argued.

Muzaffar also stressed that the status of the election manifesto itself only serves as a normal promise that carries no legal implication.

If the candidate or political party wins the election but then refuses to fulfil their promises, it would be very difficult for the voters to take legal action against this since the manifesto has no legal force, he added.

He thus urged politicians to exercise greater caution when offering promises to the people, especially those involving educational loans.

“Politicians are welcome to touch on many arising issues in the country but when it comes to personal finance matters, they should be more cautious when throwing in or making any promises to avoid sending the debtor the wrong signal.

“It is the moral duty and obligation of all politicians to teach the young people to appreciate the educational loans they have received and the value of discipline in paying back all of the loans on time and without much excuses.

“The young people should be educated on how to spend their money cautiously and wisely, as well as trained on how to save as much money as they can for the sake of their own future.

“Once this disciplined attitude is successfully instilled in them, these young people will be able to become more responsible individuals, and most importantly, financially responsible people,” Muzaffar added.