Consider zero repayment for PTPTN borrowers badly affected by MCO

LETTER | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced yesterday that PTPTN borrowers will be given six months of deferred repayment, an extension of the initial three-month repayment postponement.

To me, instead of just deferring PTPTN repayment for all borrowers, the government should give zero repayment for at least one month to borrowers who earn less than RM3,000 with a good record of the higher education loan repayment in the previous six months.

By doing this, the government can aide borrowers who are financially affected by the movement control order, whose monthly incomes rely highly on overtime pay, sales allowance (those who work as a salesperson), the number of deliveries per day (those who ride Grab Food, Foodpanda and other e-hailing food delivery services for a living) and daily revenue for those who do businesses like selling nasi lemak or mixed rice.

Pocket money is the thing of the day, and without the people having extra cash in hand, they can’t spend their money on things they seriously need to live their lives, especially those who have more than two mouths to feed at home.

Although I’m no longer a PTPTN debtor, I can feel the pain presently suffered by borrowers whose incomes are troubled by the movement restriction.

May this idea be heard and made real by the government.