SHAH ALAM, Oct 10 — The government will launch the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) Free Education initiative for 5,800 students from poor families to further their studies.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling Budget 2026 in Parliament today, said the move involves an allocation of RM120 million to ensure more inclusive higher education access for the B40 community.
The government has also agreed to exempt PTPTN loan repayments for first-class honours bachelor’s degree holders from low- and middle-income families.
According to Anwar, the initiative is set to benefit around 6,000 recipients, with a yearly allocation of RM90 million.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Anwar said travel restrictions will be imposed on borrowers who are financially able and working abroad but refuse to repay their loans.
He added that to increase access to higher education, the government will create 1,500 new undergraduate places in 10 fields of study, including law, accounting, economics, banking, Islamic finance, artificial intelligence (AI), and languages, across five research universities.
“The government is aware of the concerns of many top-performing students, especially STPM graduates, about securing places in selected public universities,” he said.
To strengthen the medical field, Anwar said two public-private partnership projects, the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Health Technopolis and Universiti Malaya (UM) Health Metropolis, will be implemented, including the development of a hospital in Petaling Jaya in collaboration with the Selangor government.
The government has also approved the establishment of endowment funds for public university teaching hospitals, with all donations eligible for income tax deductions. Contributions and income generated from these funds will be fully tax-exempt.
In the aeronautics sector, RM16 million has been allocated for Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap) to develop the country’s first Air Space Sandbox in Sungai Batu Pahat, Perlis, a low-altitude flight testing facility vital for logistics, mapping, smart agriculture and security applications.
Meanwhile, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) will become the first university in Asean to house its own airfield to support the maritime aviation industry and train local amphibious pilots.
To support underprivileged youth pursuing higher education, the government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have allocated RM4.4 billion for scholarships, loans and allowances.
The private sector will also receive double tax deductions for scholarship expenses benefiting qualified students at the undergraduate and professional levels, including in ICT, engineering, accounting and finance.
Anwar said the Higher Education Ministry’s Ikhtiar Dapur Madani initiative has been allocated RM26 million to provide students with cooking equipment and ingredients. The Dapur Madani (Madani Kitchen) programme will also deliver food aid to underprivileged students through private sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions.
“The MySiswa Job On Campus programme will also be introduced with an allocation of RM20 million to offer part-time job opportunities, helping students earn income and develop entrepreneurial skills,” he said.
Addressing student accommodation shortages, Anwar said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Universiti Malaya will pilot a project to build 1,000 residential units on campus.
