MELAKA: Study loan recipients should start paying their installments once they are employed with regular income, says the Federation of Kwong Siew Associations of Malaysia president Ho Sai Cheong.

Many are finding excuses to defer their loan repayments, including disputing the loan sum, he said.

“Study loan recipients should be grateful and settle the loan as per the scheduled installments,” he said during the 165th anniversary of the Kwong Siew Association in Melaka.

The Federation of Kwong Siew Associations of Malaysia has assisted hundreds of Chinese students with outstanding academic results to further their studies in university by setting up an interest-free study loan fund through fund raising in 1978, said Ho.

“There are some recipients who do not pay back their loans and ignore requests for them to pay.

“Some even dispute the loan amount. For example, the loan was RM25,000 but they claimed it was RM20,000 only,” he said.

Ho reminded study loan recipients to pay their dues so that the federation could continue providing study loans to other students.

Besides study loans, the federation also started offering incentives to encourage Chinese Malaysian couples to have more babies since 2000.