Malaysia’s ruling party has proposed extending its national education financing facility for citizens to study abroad.

Mas Ermieyati Samsudin – Umno’s women’s youth chief – said loans offered by the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), which covers only local public and private institutions, should be available for studies abroad.

She said this would help ease the cost of living for the students.

Mas Ermieyati said the PTPTN loans would complement existing facilities for students who depended on loans or scholarships currently offered by Public Service Department (PSD) and the People’s Trust Council (Mara).

“Puteri will bring this to PTPTN to find a way to ease the burden of students and parents involved,” she told reporters after the launching ceremony of the Sekretariat Mahasiswi Nasional (National Female Graduate Secretariat) in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, as quoted by Sinar Harian (via Bernama).

(Update) Extend PTPTN loans to Malaysian students studying abroad https://t.co/9RKxPO0nph

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The programme was held in conjunction with the weeklong 2017 Umno General Assembly at Kuala Lumpur’s Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

Mas Ermieyati also said her wing had been increasing efforts in providing exposure and information on PTPTN loans, especially to school-aged teens.

“We will also help many university graduates who have problems paying their debts, and take them to PTPTN to restructure their loan,” she said.

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