Facebook way to ease plight of PTPTN borrowers

Harakahdaily

Sep 20: In a bid to address weaknesses in the current practice of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), PAS's consumers bureau will hold a public referendum. The bureau has formed a new committee specifically for this purpose called PTPTN Issues Committee (JIP), led by its deputy chairman Mohd Taufek Abdul Ghani. However, in a break from conventional methods, the referendum will begin next month and will be held in the cyberspace through social networking website Facebook, at its page (click here). “We urge every citizen especially borrowers and future borrowers to join us in Facebook to voice out opinions and suggestions to us,” Taufek told a press conference yesterday. Among critical issues of PTPTN is its current three percent interest rate imposed as management fees from the total loans. According to JIP, this should be converted to a fixed rate without taking into consideration the total amount borrowed. JIP will also demand that the cooling off period of six months be extended to at least a year so that borrowers have sufficient time to be employed before being asked to repay. Taufek said the JIP will also push for PTPTN to honour the Loan Time Limit Act, which is six years, instead of the present implementation of 12 years. The committee also wants blacklisting of defaulting borrowers to be reviewed. 'Cut the red tape' On the recent plan to convert 800,000 conventional study loans to the Islamic loan agreement called Ujrah, the committee will urge PTPTN to reduce red tape and ease its terms and conditions. According to Taufek, the current terms and conditions were too tight and it would not help borrowers in repaying their loans. Meanwhile, PAS vice president and chairman of the party's consumers bureau Mahfuz Omar said it was inappropriate for a borrower to be burdened by loan repayment before one is employed. “Hence, we want to see the people’s response towards the act whether they want the PTPTN 1997 Act to be abolished or they have a better proposal,” he said. Mahfuz said results of the referendum will be submitted to the government as well as the Ag