Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) will give 50 percent discount on study loan settlement made by debtors who took the loan before Dec 31, 2010.

Its chairman, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, said the discount would be given based on the outstanding balance and that the new and discounted balance must be settled in one lump-sum payment.

He said the offer would be valid for a year from next month.

"At least Mara will be able to collect some payments from old loans and use the money to finance the current students," he told reporters after participating as a panelist in the PERSADA CityTalk programme titled 'Affordable Houses for Future Generation' at the Tabung Haji Complex here today.

In another development, Annuar said Mara's credibility was not affected by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) investigations on its subsidiary, Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd.

He said the investigation was part of the standard operating procedures and need not to be speculated.

On March 18, Annuar handed over documents pertaining to the purchase of real estate in Melbourne, Australia by Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd, which he felt would help the MACC's investigations.

The issue arose after Australian newspaper The Age claimed in a report that several Mara senior officials and a former politician had spent millions from Malaysian government funds to buy an apartment block known as the Dudley International House in Melbourne.

READ: Melbourne property purchase: Former Mara Inc officers, company director remanded

READ: Government denies MARA running out of funds