By Ma Li Ke
GOMBAK, 30 March 2020: Following the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, every Malaysian has been affected in one way or another.
A number of university students were not spared as they were unable to return to their homes, hence they had to stay in the university dormitories.
Recently, the Prime Minister launched the RM250 billion Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) hoping to counter the economic effects of COVID-19 on the people of the country.
Under the package, it was announced that each student would receive RM200 to lessen their economic burden during the lockdown.
The MCO has not only restricted students’ movements causing them to stay in university dormitories instead of returning home, but some of them also could not continue with their business.
In IIUM, many students run small business like item delivery and transportation, and now they are not able to continue with their job because of this lockdown which prevents them from moving about.
Thankfully, many students are coping well as the COVID-19 Task Force in IIUM is taking care of the students who are staying in the dormitories by giving them food and drinks every day.
Not only that, the government has also announced the postponement of the repayment of PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional) loans. According to the official website of PTPTN, all payments of the loan from 16 March until 30 September 2020 has been postponed.
This postponement is crucial as people are stuck at home and unable to continue with their activities and not having enough income to pay their student loans. The postponement of the loan will cause the government an estimation of RM750 million. ***