SUBANG JAYA: Borrowers who are unable to make payments should inform the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) of their financial situation instead of ignoring the matter, says Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
He has also asked PTPTN to take this into consideration when dealing with such cases.
“For those who are genuinely unable to pay, their repayment can be reorganised - whether in terms of how they pay or how much they can afford - rather than deciding that they simply cannot pay at all,” he said to reporters after the 16th National Academic Awards (AAN) presentation ceremony on Friday (Oct 24).
Zambry added that the government understands that some borrowers, especially those who have just started working, may not yet have the financial means to begin repayment.
“The government’s approach is not to punish anyone, but to understand their economic circumstances,” he said.
He also said PTPTN’s repayment issues involve different groups of borrowers, each facing varying circumstances.
“One of the issues is that there are several categories of borrowers. There are those who simply refuse to repay from day one until now - even though they are already working and earning a high income. This group falls under the category of defaulters,” he explained.
On whether there has been an increase in loan repayments following the announcement of the travel ban policy for delinquent borrowers under Budget 2026, Zambry said the details would only be confirmed next year.
“Since the announcement was made for next year’s budget, we will only know whether there will be any increase when the time comes,” he said.
The AAN is the highest recognition bestowed by the Higher Education Ministry, specifically for academics, in recognition of their excellence and contributions to promoting the name of higher education institutions (HEIs) at the national and international levels.
For their outstanding work, nine of the country’s academics were recently honoured with the award.
Receiving the top honour of the National Academic Figure Award was Professor Emerita Dr Siti Zuraina Abdul Majid from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), who took home a cash prize of RM200,000, along with a trophy and a certificate.
Xiamen University Assoc Prof Dr Gan Wee Chen and USM Assoc Prof Dr See Kok Fong received the Journal Paper Publication Award for the Science category and the Social Sciences and Literature category, respectively.
Two more academics from USM were also on the list of awardees.
Prof Dr Norhayati Mohd Noor won the Book Publication Award, while Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Firdaus Akbar Jalaludin Khan won the Innovation and Product Commercialisation Award.
Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Dr Manraj Singh Cheema, UPM Dr Rahimah Jamaluddin, and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Dr Haslinda Ibrahim won the Teaching Award - for the Health Sciences category, Applied Literature and Applied Social Science category, and the Pure Sciences category, respectively.
Ts Dr Mohamad Fitri Mohamad Haris, also from UUM, won the Arts and Creativity Award for the Performing Arts category.
These eight winners were each awarded a cash prize of RM50,000, along with a trophy and a certificate.
Among those present at the event were Higher Education director-general Prof Dr Azlinda Azman; Higher Education secretary-general Datuk Dr Anesee Ibrahim, Higher Education deputy director-general (Academic and Research) Prof Dr Zainal Amin Ayub, USM vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Prof Dr Abdul Rahman Mohamed, and Higher Education Academic Excellence Division head Assoc Prof Dr Azidah Abu Ziden.
The AAN is open to both public and private HEIs. All winners were selected based on the applications or nominations submitted by their universities, as well as the candidates’ achievements. Each category had a selection process that was stringent and transparent.
