Parting Gift

PTPTN has apparently frozen all loans to students’ of Selangor’s Unisel.

Apparently, the move is courtesy of Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin as confirmed to Utusan Malaysia.

Of late, PTPTN has come under the limelight of sorts with calls from the Pakatan Rakyat for it to be abolished and for the Federal government to introduce free higher education.

The issue was debated quite extensively by the dynamic of Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin and PJKR’s Rafizi Ramli and I don’t believe that any “correct” conclusion was reached despite the heavily partisanship stance on the matter.

Now, rather than leave things on an intellectual banter level between two foes, along came Khaled Nordin upping the ante with a decision with actual impact.

Come on la En Minister…

I might not agree with the whole abolish PTPTN argument, but this is clearly a discriminatory and spiteful move of a political score.

Who do you think the students will blame for the frozen loans? Pakatan?

I don’t think so. Not when there are already moves to provide interest free loans to students from Selangor.

I mean, even PMNTR did not pilih bulu when he distributed the much maligned BR1M cash handouts, correct?

Elligible Selangorians, Penangites, Kedahans and Kelantanese all got their dues.

In terms of political brownie points, such a move just gives Pakatan the extra ammo - already quite substantial in stock thanks to the NFC, the PKFZ and numerous other public procurement debacles - for their campaigns against Barisan.

Abolishing PTPTN is first and foremost a political talk; the reality is that it is not something QED what’s with the multitude on side issues to tackle.

A roundtable discourse on how best to approach the appreciably noble objective of free – or partially free – higher education would have been the better choice as regards the nation’s best interest.

Not this over-the-top, clearly Partisan’s move.

What bloody shame.