Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) said it was unfair that private university graduates were excluded from the initiative, as they too had taken loans to cover high tuition fees and deserved the same privilege.
“The government should not punish students simply because they studied at private institutions.
“They are also Malaysians who borrowed for their future and did not have the opportunity to study at public universities,” he said during the debate on the Supply (Budget) Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Wee said that when PTPTN was established in 1997, its main focus was to assist students in local private higher education institutions, as their tuition fees were significantly higher than those in public universities.
“When the policy was later expanded to include public university students, the original intent was to ensure equitable access to higher education.
“Therefore, it is unreasonable to now exclude private university students from this exemption,” the MCA president said.
Higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said yesterday the exemption policy for private university first-class graduates is under review, as the government re-evaluates the definition of “first-class” across both private and public institutions.
Tabling the 2026 budget last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced a PTPTN loan repayment exemption for all first-class degree holders from public universities who come from low- and middle-income families.
Wee suggested that if the government was concerned about too many private university students qualifying with first-class degrees, it could limit the exemption to the top 10% of students in each programme.
On a separate matter, he proposed that the government reintegrate Employees Provident Fund and insurance tax reliefs to make them more flexible for taxpayers.
He said that if the government was sincere about helping the people, the total relief should be increased from RM7,000 to RM9,000, without distinguishing between EPF contributions and insurance premiums.
“Only through such an increase and reintegration will fiscal policy truly benefit the people and demonstrate the government’s commitment to easing their financial burden,” he said.