Student Loan

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Student Loan

My heart broke in two when my parents enrolled me in a course I never wanted to be part of. They claimed there weren’t many teachers in the field and that it was a noble profession. They listed all the benefits, but I argued with them—I simply didn’t want it. That course became my first loan. At 19, I took on RM20,000 in debt for a diploma (give or take, after interest). I had to pay it all back. They signed me up because I had failed miserably in my SPM. (That’s another story I might share someday.) After completing my bachelor’s degree, I worked every day to repay the loan. I never missed a payment. My parents reminded me every month to pay it. A few years in—I can’t remember exactly when—I learned that if you don’t pay your loan, you’ll be barred from traveling overseas. This is the real story I’m sharing with you now. 


Like I said, I paid my loan every month once I had full-time employment. But some of my close friends didn’t pay theirs at all. They had full-time jobs too. To them, the game was rigged. “Why pay,” they said, “when everything we need is already in Malaysia?” They didn’t care about traveling to the UK, Japan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea—you name it. Big brands are already here. If they get barred or blacklisted, so be it. Malaysia has it all. One person can carry RM20K or more in debt. Sure, they owe it to the government. But imagine 100,000 students each year taking out similar loans and adopting the same mindset because they don't care. There's no reason to travel overseas, right?


I think the government will go bankrupt soon. Isn't it obvious?

Sharing with you an interesting article.

As defaulters rack up RM6b debt owed to PTPTN, Higher Education Ministry says door still open for negotiations before court | Malay Mail


In my opinion, education should be free. The only responsibility students should bear is to study—without the burden of thinking about how to pay it all back. This eliminates the pressure of repayment and allows them to focus entirely on learning.

Naturally, any reasonable person would ask: What’s the ROI of free education? To me, education should never be a profit-making scheme. When financial pressure is removed, family pressure often disappears as well. And the risk of having non-performing students? That’s low. Why? Because I’ve given them free will. Whether they choose to study or not is entirely up to them.

Of course, higher taxes would need to be imposed—but that’s a small price to pay for the prosperity of future generations. Another reason this system works, and why my ROI would be tenfold, is because, now we live in a culture that hustles beyond the degree we earn. Education is just the foundation; the drive to succeed comes from within.

Need I prove more?

Image Source: Canva
Proofreader: Microsoft Copilot

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