THE article "Stopping NZ's slide to Third World status" (NST, May 23) caught my attention. Never would I have imagined that New Zealand, being a fascinating country that it is, could be in such a financial mess.
I could not refrain myself from comparing our country with New Zealand; that it could be us one day.
When I was studying in a First World country, I was bewildered by its propensity to give out unemployment benefits.
That would be a no-no for sure in our country. I could not understand the logic behind it.
Now this article said that the cause of bleeding of New Zealand's coffers is the unemployment benefits, with 300,000 out of the almost 4.5 million population receiving them. You give money to the unemployed non-stop, there is really no reason for them to seek jobs.
Luckily, in Malaysia, we are more proactive. The government provides means for youths to develop skills to enable them to land jobs.
Nevertheless, I can see that, if the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) administration is not vigilant enough in giving out loans, one day we could end up like New Zealand.
Our people are now treating the education loans like unemployment benefits.
The number of defaulters suggests so, and the trend of loan takers becoming irresponsible is alarming. Students should deliver good results for the PTPTN to continue giving loans in the subsequent semester or year.
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