PTPTN Interest Rate Reduction: Have you started paying?

Have you started paying back your loan? As a matter of fact I have paid all of mine but…. that’s certainly almost not the main point of this post.

The main point is to provide a quick chronicled run through on PTPTN’s interest rate (aka Kos pentadbiran).

On the interest rates

Quoted from PTPTN FAQ

Kos pentadbiran 4% setahun dikenakan bagi tarikh bayaran balik pembiayaan sehingga 31 Disember 2003. Mulai 1 Januari 2004 kos pentadbiran diturunkan kepada 3% setahun atas baki berkurangan.

From 1st January 2004 onwards, the rate has been then revised to 3%. It was 4%.

The Star 14 August 2008 - PTPTN rate 1% (Click to view entire article)

On 14 August 2008, the government announced the reduction of interest rate from the current 3% to just 1% (see news article above). And the effective date was backdated to June 1 2008. But, the loan holders would need to sign a new contract to enjoy the new rate. Also to note that, all interest charged would not be revised.

On Feb 2009. I called to PTPTN to clear the air a bit on why we are still not getting the new agreement.

We are supposed to receive a new agreement on the rate reduction on Jan 2009 (which has already passed few months). And, failing to return the agreement in it’s specified time frame given would result in keeping the 3% rate on the loan instead of the new 1%. No one receives any agreement so far as far as I concern.

However, the lady told me that the delivery of agreement has been postponed to March 2009 and agreements will be sent out in batches.

Here’s a article from Malaysiakini.com (Dated 13 August 2008) saying that we must sign the new contract to enjoy the new rate.

“Peminjam perlu menjawab surat tawaran itu sama ada setuju atau tidak, ini perlu kerana ia melibatkan perjanjian, mereka (peminjam) tidak boleh anggap bila kita umum ia akan berubah kerana ini ada perjanjian.

Source: Malaysia Kini

It’s very confusing but let me try to get it explained in plain English.

The effective date is back dated on 1st June 2008 would sound real good to all the loan holders but here’s the catch. It is only good for the new comers who sign up after 1 June 2008. For the existing loan holders? You gotta wait to sign the new agreement on agreeing to the new rate.

Please tell me that you would possibly not like to get your interest rate reduced from 3% to 1%? You simply won’t. How on earth you like to pay more interest? Can’t they just send out a notification or such? Due to the inefficiency of their department, our new agreements have not been sent out on time.

Until today (It’s Feb 2010 already), I have NOT receive any letter from PTPTN regarding the new rate or whatsoever. I gave up calling them. For this, I may conclude that.

My loan on PTPTN did NOT enjoy the immediate 1% interest rate effective on 1st June 2008 though. I’m continuing being charged at 3%  for god-don’t-know-how long.

I’m not sure if you are enjoying the new rate, cause, apparently, I’m not.

It’s not as straight forward as you think on how to calculate the interest rate. Read this article and you will know how.

And, just in case you are curious about how my statement look like, here are they. You may help me to calculate and tell me if I’m actually getting 1% rate.

I shall conclude this blog post with “Make sure you keep track of your loan well!”

Popularity: 3% [?]

Hot Air Balloon is back!

by Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: One of the most awaited events in Putrajaya, the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, is coming back for the second time this year. To be held from March 18 to 21, it will feature 23 balloonists from several countries like Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, The Netherlands, United States, Japan and France, including woman pilot from Japan, Akari Sue. Officiating the launch yesterday, Perbadanan Putrajaya president Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said echoing the success of the inaugural event last year, the spectators anticipated to attend the fi esta would double last year’s 150,000 figure. He said the beauty of Putrajaya would be magnified with the colourful hot air balloons, coming in various shapes, floating within the administrative capital. “Majestically floating in the air, the hot air balloons draw the crowd regardless of their nationality, age or profession. It is very apt with this year’s event tagline “1World, 1Malaysia, 1Fiesta.” The balloons will take off at the Monumen Alaf Baru – located in Precinct 2, Putrajaya, by the edge of the Putrajaya Lake – and will fl y at a height of not more than 3,077m (10,000 feet) and within 3km radius from the site. There will be five hot air balloons to offer tethered rides for the public which would be available in two sessions a day – from 8am to 11am and 6pm to 9pm. Each person will be charged RM10 for a ride. Other activities for the public include helicopter rides, water ball and sphere rides, colouring competition, photography competition, auto show and petting zoo. Co-organised by the Malaysian Sport Aviation Federation and AKA Balloon Sdn Bhd, the four-day event will also showcase other flying events featuring para-motor, remote control planes and helicopters, aero models and professional kite flying. The highlight will be on March 20 when the night-glow display will be held, followed by a fireworks display

Popularity: 3% [?]

Balik Pulau Garden – for sale

My house is up for sales currently. It is located at the sixth floor. The location is quite strategic as its near to schools, market and a church. The apartment is located just beside a river. Here’s some essential details.

Description: Balik Pulau Garden (Rose Apartment) (8 floors in total) (Medium low cost) (2 lifts) (with one carpark, there’s ample of space anyway) (Electronic gate)

Landmarks nearby: SMK St George, SMJK Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart Church, Balik Pulau New Market.

Size: About 810 square feets. (Call to verify)

Asking Price: RM 150,000.

Contact : 04-8669034

ALL MUST GO! It’s fully furnished! Same goes to the sofas, ceiling fans, dining table and chair, 3 air-cons unit.

Of course, pictures of the unit.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Bathroom:

Third room:

(Master bedroom) First room’s bathroom:

(Master bedroom) First room:

Second room:

Popularity: 8% [?]

2009 in a blogshell

2009 is the year whereby I work for full-time at a telecommunication company for the entire year. I have committed verbally to my manager that I will work for at least a year more if I were to plan to leave the company. 1 year due on October 2010.

Parents are pushing me to advance my study and although I’m lack of determination to do so maybe due to the $ factor. Well, I think that this is actually a good idea. If I do not do so soon, I might end up repeating the same routine everyday for the next 30 years or even more. I should find where to study next!

A photographer is a person who takes a photograph using a camera. A professional photographer uses photography to make a living whilst an amateur photographer does not earn a living and typically takes photographs for pleasure and to record an event, place or person for future enjoyment.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographer

2009 is the year I spent “quite” heavily on camera gears. I like to take photos of scenery, panoramic and all sorts of photos regardless of whether the subject is a hot chick or not. I’m not a cameraman nor a photographer. I dare not claim myself to be a photographer. According to definition, I think I’m fit for the title “Amateur photographer”. I can’t earn my living through clicking… yet. Hopefully I can make my hobby as my career in the near future.

Yes, in case you are curious, I’m still having my faithful Canon 400D. Hack! I have just discovered something new within the camera 2 months ago even after owning this body for almost 2 years! I wanted to upgrade to Canon 5D MKII or the newer Canon 7D but I’m feeling the pain of drawing out thousand dollars of hard earned money just for the freakin’ body! Money is so hard to earn. I only learned this when I started working. I should stop being a gear-collector for a moment and try to compose a better picture first!

The Star - Yearender 2009 (38)

2009 is the year I traveled to Hong Kong and Hanoi. First is with Wendy, second is with my parents. Heck I haven’t actually manage to finish to blog them all. We are going to Taiwan and maybe some other places next year.

2009 is the year I got scammed. Nearly. The last time I remember people snatching my wallet physically should be when I was around 13 years old when I cycled past some kampung mat rempit wanna Malay boys, they picked up speed and simply snatched my wallet away from my back pocket. My weak heart was pumping as fast as possible to supply oxygen to my weakening leg muscles to move the bicycle forward to get them but it could never beat the motorcycle only to see them fade into the distance.

2009 is the year Wendy’s dad passed away. Hope he is at peace now after months of struggle with lung cancer.

There are many cheerful things took place in 2009 as well as some not-so-happy ones. I always wanted a bigger LCD, a better camera body, a better phone and many more L lenses but it’s all just a want rather than a need. Let’s hope 2010 would be a year of change. Change for better.

Happy New Year. 2009 年， 如应用一个字来形容的活，它会是个‘茫’。期望2010会是个‘鲜’年。新年快乐，万事如意，身体健康！！！

Popularity: 7% [?]

Streamyx and splitter problem and tips

If you have experienced problems with your Streamyx before, you must be very familiar with the following lines when you called up the Streamyx helpline (1300 88 9515 / 100).

“Have you bypassed your splitter?”

“Have you disconnected your splitter and connect directly to your modem?”

Splitter splits the frequency band accordingly so that your phone and modem will not cross-over between each other and causing interruptions while in use.

The quality of your DSL (Internet) line can be determined by looking at the modem’s parameters, in particular, SNR margin.

Check your local and remote SNR margin. the higher the better. the ratings below is for local SNR margin.

30 and above = Good, u shouldnt have disconnections problems.

15 – 30 = Maybe a few when peak time, probably your line needs to be changed

15 and below = Very FREQUENT disconnections. You should consult telekom to have your line checked, most cases are because the line are too old and once they are changed they’re fine (the lines on the telephone poles). If you’re using a lightning surge protector. REMOVE it. they are known to weaken the signal by around 50-70% in order to prevent the surge on devices.

Quoted from http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/166678

There’s ample of technical knowledge and assistance that you can obtain from Lowyat forum and I will leave you with that. I’m just sharing one simple yet highly effective trick that will almost instantly boost your line quality and who knows, you might just be able to fix your connection problems!

The trick is DO NOT CONNECT your modem through the splitter. This would reduce the resistance that signals need to overcome before reaching your modem. If you need to connect to your house phone, use a RJ11 double adapter like the one shown below instead.

Connect your modem directly from the adapter, then for your house phone, connect it through the splitter before plugging it into the adapter. It is just that easy.

Hope this short article is handful for you.

Popularity: 17% [?]