PAKATAN Harapan, had, in the last elections, campaigned hard for the young vote, and it showed.

Many of the promises made before the elections were aimed at those who had just graduated and were trying to find their foothold on the world – promises to delay the payment of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans until the graduate reaches RM4,000 in total salary, promises to reduce the excise duty of cars below 1600cc, and promises to expand the rent-to-own programme for young Malaysians to afford to buy their first house.

Other promises included developing areas of education and recreation most relevant to the young today – vocational and Technical-Vocational (TVET) training, eco, extreme and electronic sports, and developing arts and culture for youths.

Although it was never stated in their manifesto, Pakatan leaders have implied, via forums and public speeches, that a new Malaysia will see cheaper or even free education, often citing countries in Scandinavia or the Middle East which offer similar benefits for their citizens.

In some highly charged speeches, some leaders even questioned things about PTPTN itself, questioning the need to pay back the organization and so on. Similar things were said about tolls, high broadband prices and the GST.

However, all things considered, PTPTN, like many government agencies and companies, given the constraints it had and continue to face, has done a pretty decent job.

It has for the most part, managed to reduce its dependency on the government and the move to incorporate the national education savings scheme into it, will help encourage parents to set aside money for the future of their children, apart from helping maintain the buoyancy of the revolving fund itself.

However, the reality of a RM36 billion debt adds to the growing litany of woes the new government must deal with, or risk squandering more public goodwill.

With all that has been said in public about PTPTN, some form of relief beyond deferred payments will surely be expected by the students.

Perhaps, as they are saying now, Pakatan truly did not foresee the depth of problems Malaysia has – either by underestimating the damage purportedly done by Barisan Nasional, or by overestimating the amount of reserves they had to use in the event they took over.

However, a major campaign strategy of Pakatan itself in the last elections, have been to highlight broken promises, culminating in the “#manifestobukanjanji” tag line.

Granted, loans need to be repaid of course, but there are many things that can be done to strengthen and improve PTPTN which would in turn, hopefully reduce the burden of students.

A fund similar to the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) can be started, with contributions from education-related, for-profit companies, which can be used to offset scholarships offered under PTPTN (for first and second upper graduates).

Alternatively, PTPTN can work with the various foundations that offer such scholarships as a form of (chargeable) expertise to vet through students.

As an experienced entity in handling student loans, PTPTN can also serve as a focal point for disbursing student loans by other financial institutions, for starters, perhaps government-owned banks like Bank Simpanan Nasional or Agro Bank.

These rates can be at a preferential rate, compared to prevailing market rates, and could be tied in to full or partial scholarships.

But more importantly, four months into leading the country, it’s time for Pakatan to put the past behind, put the pieces together and come up with a plan to impress the electorate enough to retain their rule for longer than a term.

Addressing PTPTN concerns in a balanced and mutually beneficial way could be the much-needed catalyst to do just that. – September 26, 2018.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.