PAS Urges New Government To Abolish 'Riba' Interests In PTPTN Repayments
PTPTN has previously clarified that their loan scheme does not have elements of riba.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 04 Mar 2020, 02:34 PM
A PAS leader recently said that he hopes the new coalition government, Perikatan National, will work towards abolishing riba interests in National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) repayments
Riba is a concept in Islamic banking that refers to the charging of unreasonably high-interest rates.
PAS deputy Mursyidul Am (Spiritual Leader) Datuk Ahmad Yakob told Harian Metro that his party wants PTPTN borrowers to only pay back the amount of money they loaned, and nothing more.
He said, "If the Perikatan Nasional government today couldn't solve the issue of PTPTN debt, they could at least abolish riba."
He stressed that PTPTN borrowers should not be given an exemption and they still need to repay the loan regardless
"But just don't put an interest rate," he added.
Datuk Ahmad Yakob also mentioned that Islam believes that a person must pay back the money they have borrowed.
PTPTN previously clarified in the past that their loan has no elements of riba
In an official press release published in 2016, PTPTN explained that their loan scheme is Shariah-compliant and has been approved by the National Council for Malaysian Islamic Affairs.
They also highlighted that the 1% interest rate imposed on borrowers cannot be considered as riba because it does not make up their profit and it is used by PTPTN cover the cost of their operations.
