Higher education minister Zambry Abd Kadir said the temporary suspension of the exemption was to allow the ministry to reassess the definition and standards of “first class” across public and private universities, Bernama reported.

“This review is not to deny the rights of any party. We will review it so that those who truly meet the first-class category are eligible to receive the refund exemption,” he was quoted as saying after attending the 2025 Malay Language Academic Awards Ceremony.

Zambry said the review would also cover academic quality, integrity, and consistency between public (IPTA) and private (IPTS) institutions to ensure fairness.

“We do not want significant differences between universities, but there must be a solid basis for determining qualifications. This is important because there are more than 390 IPTS nationwide, so the definition of first class needs to be standardised,” he said.

He added that monitoring was easier for public universities as they were directly overseen by the government through the education ministry.

Zambry assured that the policy of granting exemptions to first-class graduates would continue once the review and evaluation process were completed next year.

When tabling Budget 2026 last Friday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the exemption on PTPTN repayments for students from low and middle-income families who obtained a first-class honours degree at public universities would continue.

This move is expected to benefit around 6,000 borrowers annually. A total of RM90 million has been allocated for it.