KUALA LUMPUR: The names of 429,945 borrowers of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) have been removed from the Immigration blacklist since May 24, said its chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

He said “whitening” process of the borrowers’ names was completed last June 8, a week earlier than expected.

“This is made to fulfil the 100-day pledge made by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to fulfil its manifesto made during the 14th General Election.

“However, those whose names have been taken out of the Immigration blacklist are advised to continue to make their study loan repayments,” he told a press conference here today.

To that effect, he said, borrowers who had been barred from travelling abroad were now free to travel and the PTPTN counter at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) would be closed down, effective July 1.

Wan Saiful is the new PTPTN chairman, replacing Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

The consistent repayment of the education loans by the borrowers will ensure they do not have outstanding payments and a clean record in the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS).

CCRIS is a centralised system developed by Bank Negara to gather and store all data on debts by individuals or companies with banks or other financial institutions and used as reference by all financial institutions or credit providers in Malaysia.

Wan Saiful said that besides having a clean CCRIS record, PTPTN borrowers who made early settlement could have access to an ujrah loan of one per cent (a syariah-compliant education loan).

He said they would also enjoy a 20 per cent discount for full payment or 10 per cent for 50 per cent settlement.

On the PH manifesto to defer payment of the PTPTN loan for all borrowers earning less than RM4,000 a month, Wan Saiful said the borrowers would have to continue paying the loan until an announcement on the matter by PTPTN in August. — BERNAMA