KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — A total of 97,866, or 49 per cent, of the total 197,348 active borrowers have been blacklisted by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).
Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Rubiah Wang said the move is imposed on borrowers who have not paid their loans for three months and is only applicable within Mara’s management, without involving other agencies and ecosystems.
“For students applying for Mara assistance, the process is relatively easy, even if the parents are blacklisted, as negotiations can be carried out. The amount and instalments can be reduced as long as payment is made.
“To ensure student loans are approved, parents don’t have to pay the full amount; they just have to settle the arrears. What is important is that the financing process can be implemented more effectively,” she said in the Dewan Rakyat here today.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Jelebu MP Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias, who wanted to now the number of Mara borrowers who have been blacklisted and Mara’s plans to ease conditions for students whose parents have been blacklisted.
Responding to Jalaluddin’s initial question regarding the current number of Mara-sponsored students, Rubiah said 96,857 students currently receive education loans domestically and internationally.
The number includes 90,919 students in the country and 5,938 students abroad.
She said in 2023, Mara achieved a 100 per cent loan repayment collection amounting to RM300 million. This year, the collection rate had reached 70 per cent of the RM400 million target, as of the third quarter.
— Bernama
