By Mohamad Amirul Hafiz Roslan
GOMBAK, 8 March 2016 “ Human beings do make mistakes. And we learn from the mistakes to improve ourselves but for those who keep on repeating their mistakes they are just making themselves even worse. This is a reflection of the bad habits among students especially when it comes to dealing with money.
Nowadays, the value of money has become small as things become little more expensive with the price of goods keeps on rising. Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara (PTPTN) is a programme offered by the Malaysian government in the form of loan to help students further their studies at universities and institutions of higher learning.
Most students studying in universities in Malaysia depend on the funds from PTPTN. But are they using the money wisely or are they spending the money for something that do not bring them benefits?
The answer to that question probably is not. This is because students also have their interest. Some of students even have a plan on what things they are going to buy, some have not yet planned but eventually they would be spending the money. This is what we called a ˜desire.
The main reason why students are unable to manage the money well is because of desire to own or obtain something that might give them happiness. Lokman, 23, a Political Science student claimed that the advertisement in the media have influenced him to buy what he wanted.
“So many things show up on the Internet and I barely could refuse to look at them and if I am interested then the transaction would be finalised immediately.
Gadgets like mobile phones are commonly attracted by the students. Sometimes it is for the sake of showing off to other students that they could afford to buy without thinking what would happen if all the money are spent. Students sometimes are not able to make a good decision between spending on ‘needs’ and ‘wants’. They are unable to see the difference. This is probably because they lack knowledge on current economy or they simply ignore about it.
Nevertheless, there are some students who spent on what is necessary for them.
œWhen I get the money, I don’t think about spending on rubbish things, because I would rather invest on something beneficial for my future, said Nazrin Azri, 23, a student of History and Civilisation.
Misuse or mismanagement of the money may lead to another problem like being bankrupt. In the real context of students, bankruptcy may not exist but literally it is a situation where students are running out of their money before the semester ends.
At this point, anything could happen. Stealing is the most obvious case reported in IIUM. If situation like this persists, it will harm other students’ emotions.***