Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) reported that nearly half—49.6%—of its loans were non-performing last year, totaling RM893 million in unpaid loans [1, 2]. In June 2026, MARA chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reaffirmed the agency's firm stance against deliberate loan defaulters, saying, "A loan is a loan, which means it must be repaid. MARA will never compromise with borrowers who deliberately default. This is not personal money, but the people’s money" [1, 2].

Datuk Dr Asyraf emphasized his priority of pursuing defaulting borrowers through court action. "Since I was entrusted with the role of chairman, pursuing defaulting borrowers, including through court action, has been one of my priorities to ensure every sen of public funds is recovered and can be reused to benefit others," he said [1].

The MARA Council has instructed management not to entertain any exemption requests, even from influential figures, demonstrating no tolerance regardless of status, according to Datuk Asyraf’s statement [2].

As of October 2024, MARA had blacklisted 97,866 borrowers out of 197,348 active borrowers for failing to repay loans for three consecutive months. This blacklist is enforced exclusively within MARA’s internal system without involving other external agencies or credit ecosystems [1, 2].

One high-profile case involves Siti Norbaya Ahmad Nor, who secured MARA loans for a master’s degree in 2011 at the University of Manchester and a PhD in 2013 at the University of Cambridge. In 2022, MARA initiated legal proceedings against her for failing to service accumulated loans. The court ordered her to repay RM857,000 [1].

MARA’s no-compromise message is part of its ongoing Transformation Programme aimed at strengthening financial discipline and protecting public funds [1, 2]. The agency is moving forward with legal actions to recover funds and enforce repayment discipline.

The next concrete step includes continued court proceedings against defaulters alongside maintaining the blacklist and strict loan enforcement as part of MARA’s strategy to reduce the high level of non-performing loans.