And so, the legend continues…

A Quick Recap

As I’ve mentioned before, I collected my replacement iPhone 4 (aka iPhone 4.2 since it’s the second iPhone 4 I got from CELCOM) on April 12th, 2012. That was 16 working days later or 22 days after I turned my iPhone 4 in to the aforementioned Blue Cube branch.

A Few Days Later

I experienced another problem with my iPhone 4.2 from CELCOM; I keep getting static noises when receiving and making phone calls. It’s a slight variation from the challenges I had with my iPhone 4.1 (I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice, they can hear mine, but no static noises).

Same difference – I still couldn’t make and receive calls properly. Heck, it’s THE basic need of having a freakin’ phone in the first place; to make and receive voice calls. (Author’s note: not applicable to SMS-junkies)

Bangsar Blue Cube vs Pavilion KL Blue Cube

After my *wonderful* experience with the Pavilion’s Blue Cube crew, I decided to not go there. After checking the CELCOM’s website, I narrowed it down to either the Mid Valley’s Blue Cube or the Bangsar’s Blue Cube. Call it lucky or what, I just happened to be meeting some old uni-mates in Bangsar on April 26th (2 days before iMyn’s BERSIH 3.0 experience).

It was at 8.30pm; they are open until 10.00pm.

When my number was up, I explained to the counter about my predicament with my iPhone 4 yada yada yada yada. They walked me through the whole procession as well; I had to leave the phone there, no replacement available, and yes, 30 working days as well…

Just as I was about to burst out with anger, they gave a me a great recommendation:

Blue Cube Personnel: Why don’t you go directly to Menara CELCOM? There, you’ll get a 1-to-1 exchange on the spot. Even if you leave your phone here, we’ll be sending the phone to the tower as well.
Ken: Really? Where is it?
BCP: It’s on Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, go to Level 8. (Click on the link/map below for detailed directions)
Ken: Thanks!

May 3rd, 2012: Menara CELCOM Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz

And so on May 3rd 2012, I went to the Menara CELCOM on Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz. Parking was a pain, but it was worth it! Like the guys in Blue Cube Bangsar said, I did get my replacement unit, ON THE SPOT!!

Woohoo!

Yup, I am now on my third iPhone 4, and I have discovered the secret to exchanging your iPhone(s). If you got your iPhone from CELCOM, and you are facing difficulties with the device, bring your service card (it’s the white and blue card you’d get when you first receive your iPhone from CELCOM) head directly to Menara CELCOM on Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, go to Level 8, and explain the problem to them.

So long Blue Cube Pavilion KL, guess I won’t be dropping by there ever again.

Cheers!

I came to the Bersih 3.0 Rally as an observer. I didn’t really support it, also I didn’t oppose it. I just came to see what the fuss was all about and also to experience the Bersih Rallies for the first time. In short I had no expectations going to the rally.

KL city centre was as expected very clear as the Police had blocked roads leading to the Dataran Merdeka. I started at KLCC and joined the Lynas demonstrators on their march towards Dataran. As we arrived at Masjid Jamek, there was already a big crowd gathered all the way to Dataran Merdeka. The gathering was peaceful, it was more like a carnival than a rally. Everyone was enjoying themselves while waiting for 2pm where the rally will officially start. I wanted to take good pictures so I followed the crowd to the barrier that separates the police, who are guarding Dataran, from the protestors.

2pm came and went and everything was under control. I was beginning to expect that the rally was going to be a boring one where we wait in the hot sun until the official rally tie is over, then go back home in peace. Then some time around 3.20 pm or something like that, the motorcade of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim came to the barrier. He then gave a speech and  managed to get the crowd all pumped up. I was quite far away from him so I didnt hear what he said, but I later found out that that was the time Dato’ Ambiga decided to disband the crowd and told everyone to go back, the objective has been met, she added.

But suddenly, I saw a really strange thing. the line of police in front of the barricade started to run like hell towards dataran, as if being chased by a lion. At that same time, some unknown people started to brake the barricade…the all hell broke loose. This is that moment :

Then, the rest is history. I don’t want to comment much about what happened because there are a lot of videos and news about that for the past 2 weeks.

What I want to comment are about what I feel was wrong about the Rally, good things about the rally and suggestions to have a better Bersih rally in the future.

What I hate about the Bersih 3.0 Rally:

• Too many politicians involved. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the opposition supporting Bersih, but the fact that the whole event seem to be run by the opposition is not doing any favors for bersih. In fact, because Dato Seri Anwar was at the event giving speechs was a big opportunity and motivation for the government to make the rally violent and blame it all on the opposition.
• I particularly didn’t like the protestors who were taunting and calling the police names such as “Anjing” (dog in Malay) and other derogatory words. I mean, if you want the police to cooperate and ensure a peaceful demonstration, respect the police, else you are giving another reason for the police to kick your a#$ with pleasure.
• It shouldn’t have ended with violence. The rally was peaceful and could have ended that way if not for some over excited demonstrators and the Police’s unnecessarily violent response to the breaking of the barrier.
• It was at the front line and I know that somebody wanted the demonstrations to go violent.

What I like about the Bersih 3.0 Rally:

• Although it was chaos with the tear gas flying all over, we can see Malaysians united and helping each other without any racial distinction. It was 1Malaysia in the real sense.
• I really believe and support the goal of Bersih, which is to fight for free and fair elections.
• Although tear gas sucks, it was a good experience.
• It showed the government how the people really wanted free and fair elections. The turn up was said to be  250,000 people.

It was naive to believe that the demonstrations will end peacefully and even more naive to think that the crowd can be controlled. When was the last time demonstrations ended peacefully in the history of Malaysia? So, I suggest a few things to do if they want to make another Bersih rally in KL:

1. Politicians can support the movement, but never ever set foot on the rally event itself. This will make it seem less bipartisan and more like an opposition movement. This in turn gives the government more points to bash the Bersih organizers and to create propaganda.
2. If they still want to join, join as a normal citizen, not as a politician. Meaning, no speeches, no fanfare, no escorts.
3. Have a clear plan of action and convey it to all the participants before the event. Emphasis on key points such as what to do if the rally becomes violent and tear gas starts to fly, do and donts while in the rally etc.
4. Participants should work together to stop violent protesters from wrecking the party for everyone. Every participant has the responsibility to catch anyone that is trying to ignite violence.
5. Lets make it something different than a rally. Maybe do a shopping day wearing Bersih T-Shirts. In this way, we can support business owners that were so against the Bersih Rally.
6. If you can avoid demonstrations, please avoid it. They never end peacefully.

The Bottomline

The bottomline is, for the past 2 weeks, from the videos on Youtube we saw both sides (the police and the protestors) doing bad stuff. I know, many would say the police started the violence, but there were some protestors beating up cops too. So both are to some extent guilty. But it is important not to let the main objective of the Rally to be overlooked. The election commission needs to be overhauled and the records of the voters cleaned up. It’s not like the Bersih protestors want to topple the government, as reported on mainstream news. They just want the people they elect to be truly who they voted for.

Happy Voting!

Finally, YES has launched a smartphone for it’s 4G network that has a fighting chance to compete on the market, however, a first look at the response is somewhat disappointing.

First of all, here is the advert of the Eclipse phone :

Since I first used YES 4G I have been really looking forward for a smartphone to be used with the network. I registered with YES’s package which included a free huddle and RM1000++ of credits which has not yet been used up even though it has been 1 and a half years!!

Even though my plan is a prepaid plan I need to use at least RM30 each month or they will forfeit the  remaining credit if my usage does not surpass RM30 per month. That kinda sucks because I don’t really use much on the go, so I thought it would be nice to have a smartphone so that I can optimize the usage of my YES credits. FYI, RM30 is about 1GBs worth of data usage and I don’t use the YES account for calls since I’m using YES with my iPad when I am outdoors, and calling with the iPad is not really a pleasant feat.

I could opt for an iPhone, but as you know, iPhones come with data plans (unless you buy it on it’s own) and uses 3G. So it doesn’t really solve my credit usage optimization problem.

The Eclipse

To be honest I’m an iOS person so I don’t know much of the development of the Android platform.

In fact I know nothing about Android, which unfortunately is the platform used by the Eclipse. But the comments on the Youtube video of the Eclipse advert gives you a general view of what people in the Android phone industry are thinking about the phone and the following is my favorite (view the video on Youtube to see more comments) :

Apparently the phone is deemed outdated by many but YES have been customizing the phone for the past 17 months to suit its 4G network. Reading more of the comments, you probably have a worse image of the phone. But regardless, here are the features of the phone highlighted by YES :

• 4G Connectivity with 3G/2G GSM support
• WiFi
• Android 2.2 “Froyo” (whatever that is)
• 4 way video calls.
• WiFi Sharing with 4 other devices (MiFi)
• 20Mbps data transfer speed

To me the phone with the most features is not necessarily the best for the job and to be honest, I don’t really mind the phone not having as much features as the new Samsung Galaxy SIII as long as it meets my needs, I am OK with it.

However I have a big problem with the pricing, RM1688 without a plan!

With a plan, the prices will look like this :

To get the Eclipse for free, you have to sign up for the Eclipse 238 plan that will cost you RM238 per month. But remember this is inclusive of 1,000 mins of calls or SMS per month on top of the 7GB data limit and they will only bill you of you use more than those 1,000 mins or SMS.

It is still pretty pricey if compared to Digi’s iPhone plan. Then again, Digi’s data speed is not as fast as YES. Besides, the only reason why I used YES 4G in the first place is because it’s prepaid. So the plans above mean nothing to me.

SO…, the problem with the Eclipse to me is the price, RM1688 which is pretty high when Samsung and HTC could offer better phones at better prices. I know many have been giving bad comments about the phone, but I guess I would have to try the phone for myself to get a feel of the phone’s worth.

That has always been my way of getting the true story.

One thing’s for sure, I won’t be registering for the plans if I decide to get the phone. Now there is only one thing left to do, to test the Eclipse phone.

As expected many will argue the amount is too little to be a minimum wage because one would still be considered below the poverty line. Dr Mahathir thinks it’s too much, to my surprise. However I think if one lives in the rural areas, RM900 is not actually that bad as the cost of living is not even close as to the cost of living in the cities. But it wont hurt to have more money in the bank, no?

Anyway, what I agree with the labor minister and also the PM when they said that Malaysia cannot relay anymore on cheap labor to make it competitive, rather we must now move into businesses that utilizes high skilled, knowledge workers such as financial services.

But straight away we see the problem, namely brain drain. With all the best talent moving out to greener pastors, I’m not sure we can provide enough skilled man power to support a good “high income” economy.

So, towards that a complete overhaul is needed in the education and economic policies. A more liberal approach must be taken to woo Malaysians working abroad back to Malaysia. In short, I think there is still a lot that is needed to be done before we can be a country with an abundance of skill workers that can support a high income economy.

But whatever it is, it’s a good start. Whether or not you believe that the government has the capacity to see the plan through (turning the country into a high income nation) it’s anyone’s guess. Good thing the election is (believe to be) around the corner. So now you can choose the government you believe can lead to a better future.

The depressing thing is, the Opposition and the government are saying two contradicting things. One saying its as dangerous as nukes, the other saying it is as safe as any processing plant. It is pretty hard to find a neutral party that speaks the neutral truth. If they were neutral parties, they will be accused of being pro government or pro opposition once the other side doesn’t like what they hear.

First of all, I know politics play a big role in everyday life in Malaysia. A lot of things can’t happen without support of politicians. But one thing I learned, is that don’t trust the politicians 100%.

Regardless of which side they are on.

They all have their own agenda and often use unsuspecting rakyat to support their cause. So, I have made it a point to take what is said by politicians with some skepticism until I find proof to support their statement.

Besides, it’s part of being a wise voter.

I found a good piece on rare earth on kickdefella.net  The writer explains what is rare earths and what it’s used for. Although he doesn’t bring up much about the waste management side of the processing, he brings up a lot of good point to ponder upon.

 What are we protesting against?

To understand what we are protesting against, we must first get to know what products these rare earths make. After reading the kickdefella’s post, we know rare earths go into making electronic gadgets, like your iPhone, as well as a number of green technology products such as the hybrid cars, hi tech windmills producing clean energy and also energy efficient light bulbs.

So, imminently you can see that life will become stone aged without rare earths.With no doubt you need rear earth based products.

But I’m sure if most of us are not against rare earth, but the processing of rare earths on Malaysian soil because it produces radioactive waste, no? If that’s the case, why not go all the way and protest rare earth processing plants in China. Chinese (in China) are human too.

Why the double standard?

Come to think of it, I cant help but think that China is somehow involved in this protest, as they don’t want their rare earths business back home to be challenged. I mean, Mt Weld, the main area that Lynas mines their rare earths, churns out 1.9 million tonnes of rare earth minerals a year while the whole of China only exported 35,000 tonnes this year.

So as you can see it is big business.

Probably most of us have also seen the video of the victim of the Bukit Merah rare earth factory where her child was effected by the radiation from the factory. I really felt sorry for the woman, I really do. I also condemn the Japanese company that ran the plant for not putting into place proper safety precautions for the workers in the factory. However, nowadays technology has advanced so much from that time and so did safety precautions. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also proved that Lynas has met its safety standards and if you cant trust the IAEA, then you can’t trust no one. The factory that leaked radiation probably was not even certified by the IAEA.

So that leaves us with only a couple of points to protest about. First is why did they give them a 12 year tax break? Why not just 5 , 2 or 3 years? Another point to be concerned about has the Government have the integrity to admit a problem if in the worse case scenario that there was an accident at the plant and radioactive contamination happened (should not be happening because of the safety standards set by the IAEA)? Can the emergency services respond quickly and professionally enough? I mean, if you see what happened in Fukushima where even the honest-est government also lied about the threat of radiation levels when the catastrophe happened.

Conclusion

Well, I’m not saying that I support the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) 100% but I can say I don’t oppose it 100%. The biggest question is whether we are ready to take up the responsibility of handling a risky but very beneficial business on our soil. Would we just give up and say, we are not ready for this, or we make things happen? Besides any business has risks. The oil & gas industry has potential to pollute the environment as much as the Lynas factory.

Lynas has invested USD730 million on this plant and it will create thousands of jobs for the locals, at the plant, the docs and the supporting industries. Not to mention if the rare earth plant is up and running, what are the chances that technology companies such as Motorola will invest on building a factory nearby to take advantage of the supply of the raw materials processed at the plant? That would be a good for the countries economy.

Why I bring this matter up?

I bring this matter up not because I support Lynas. It’s just that the issue, being politicized again and again has hampered the real truth from getting out. I don’t mind if they continue on with the plant or demolish it. I don’t gain or loose anything from it.

But I just don’t want the decision to be based on half truths, lies and because of heard mentality.

I’ve seen a lot of people benefited from this issue. First of all the Opposition, then the T-shirt makers, then there was even a song or two that came out about the issue that although they may not have any monetary gain, but the have gained a lot of publicity I would say. I’m not a big fan of the government, but it doesn’t mean that everything that the oppositions does and say is right. They are merely 2 different opinions.

I guess fighting for a better government system would be a better long term struggle because a good, transparent government would know how to handle these issues professionally.

I think he was referring to if higher education was free, the rich people not having to pay for University fees when they clearly can pay. He added “why should we help the rich, we should help the poor”.

Well, with all due respect to Dr.M, sometimes he seems to miss the point.

I really respect Dr M for the very fact he is one of the wisest politicians in recent history, regardless what wrong or right things he may have done. But on this issue of free education, I just have to disagree with him.Actually, what makes a statement wrong or right is the point of view the statement is seen from. From a narrow point of view, Dr M’s statement is not entirely wrong. The rich have money, they can pay for their own education, thus saving the governments (or rather the taxpayers) money.

However, we cant look at is for such a narrow point of view and look from a wider perspective.

First of all we need to stop treating Universities as factories for producing workers for the industry, but a place to create human beings that will help the country progress towards an advance nation. Or in simple terms universities should create leaders, not train workers.

So free education should be about building the nation. Not just about rich and poor. I think we just need to adjust the intake system to ensure that the bet people get into the public universities, regardless, if they are rich or poor. In the end, a poor student that doesn’t want to learn is as bad as a self funded rich student, who doesn’t want to learn.

Besides. investing in people is the best investment you can make. You can spend billions on infrastructure but without the proper mind to run them, they are practically just toys.

A good example of the best education system is Finland. It has consistently been the no. 1 education system in te world. Just google or youtube Finland education system and you can find out more about it

I’ve been a CELCOM customer since 2000, back when I was using the most durable handphone of all time – Nokia 3310.

Over the years I’ve stuck with CELCOM. I’ve had several prepaid numbers but my one and only postpaid has been 019. I’m such a CELCOM dude, so much so that recently, a friend called and asked me about CELCOM’s iPhone packages; how much is the phone? What’s the upfront commitment? How long is the contract duration? What’s the package breakdown (SMS/MMS/Data) etc…

And the best part is, I’m not a CELCOM or an Axiata Group employee.

My friends refer to me about CELCOM, because they know how much I love the network…. I’ve been an Apple fan for the longest time, and unfortunately in Malaysia, The Big C was the last telco company that brought the iPhones in. So when they finally brought the iPhone 4 in last year, I sold off my BlackBerry Torch, terminated my contract (paid RM500 penalty for it) and got myself…..

the iPhone 4.

It was for a two years contract where the additional year was provided by CELCOM themselves. I vaguely remembered that the Blue Cube (Kuantan) girl saying “kalau phone rosak ke apa-apa dalam dua tahun nih, kita ganti baru.” [if there's anything wrong with the phone within the two years, we'll replace with a new unit.]

And so on March 21st 2012, something wrong happened to my iPhone 4. The speaker went kaput. It means, during voice calls, I’m unable to hear what the other person is saying.

When that happened, I called CELCOM’s Helpline at 1300 111 000 and asked them about the repair center. The long and short of it, I was asked to go to Blue Cube in Pavilion KL and they’ll take care of it.

The Helpline guy also mentioned that it’ll take about 30 working days to resolve the problem.

I’m Finally Getting To The Point

March 22nd, 2012:

• Sent in my iPhone 4 to Blue Cube in Pavilion KL.
• Was informed that no temporary replacement phones are available as every unit has been loaned out to CELCOM customers.
• Was informed it will take 30 working days to resolve the issue.
• I wasn’t given a 1-to-1 replacement phone on the spot.
• My iPhone 4 will be sent down to Singapore to be repaired.

On that last point, I didn’t ask much then as I was rushing to get somewhere else. On March 27th, I made follow-up calls to the Helpline and Blue Cube Pavilion to find out about my phone. Sadly, nobody picked up the phone. I called throughout the day from 10.00am until 5.00pm and not once was my call answered.

According to CELCOM’s own website, the operational hours for Blue Cube at Pavilion KL is  from 10.00am to 10.00pm.

March 27th, 2012:

• Called HelpLine to inquire about my iPhone’s status.
• CELCOM HelpLine unable to update me on the phone’s status because they are not ‘connected’ to the Blue Cube(s).
• Centrally, they are unable to check the status of any phones sent in for repairs. [FLAG 1]

March 28th, 2012:

Went to Blue Cube Pavilion KL to ask for the status of my iPhone. The following is my best recollection of my exchanges with the Blue Cube personnel.

Ken: What’s the status of my iPhone? (showed the repair slip)
Blue Cube’s Personnel: It has been sent to Singapore for repair.

K: So, is it repairable or am I getting a replacement?
BCP: We haven’t been informed yet (by Singapore side).

K: Why am I not getting a 1-to-1 replacement on the spot?
BCP: The 1-to-1 exchange is only for the first seven days of purchase. From Day-8 onwards, the units will be sent to Singapore to see if it can be repaired. If it can be repaired, we’ll repair it and send it back to the owner. If not, we’ll issue a replacement unit. [FLAG 2]

K: Then, what about the temporary replacement phones?
BCP: We only have limited number of phones and all of them are with our customers. [FLAG 3]

K: So what happens to my Data Plan? The contract is for data and if my own personal temporary phone is not a SmartPhone, will I get rebated back for the period when the phone is being repaired? 30 WORKING DAYS is almost two months!
BCP: We don’t have that kind of policy here. [FLAG 4]

K: So how can I find out about my phone’s status?
BCP: You can call us at 03-2xxx xxxx.

K: Here’s the thing, I’ve been calling you for hours yesterday and earlier today before I arrived here, and nobody picked up the phone.
BCP: Sir, we are currently shorthanded and our policy at Blue Cube is to attend to the walk-in customers and if the staffs are free, they’ll answer the call and we’re always busy. [FLAG 5]

K: You open from 10.00am onwards, I called at around opening hour (where there aren’t that many people in Pavilion KL on a Tuesday/Wednesday) and still nobody picks up the phone.
BCP: *silent* [FLAG 6]

K: And I have to drive all the way into KL to get an answer that can easily be provided if somebody picks up the phone. Instead, I had to take a half-day leave, face the KL traffic, pay the Pavilion’s parking for a 30-second process.
BCP: *still has nothing to say*

K: What other method can I get updates on my phone? Do you have an email?
BCP: Yes sir, you can email us pavilion[at]bluecube.com.my

K: What’s your email address? (I wanted to personally email this guy instead of sending an email to a generic mailbox)
BCP: You can email us there and all six/seven personnel will see the email and respond.

K: How long then will it take to respond to my email? I called your (office) and nobody picked up for two days.
BCP: Usually, we’ll respond to emails within 2-3 days.

I was skeptical with the 2-3 days response time. Nonetheless, it’s not like I had any other options.

April 12th, 2012 – Working Day #16 or 22 Days Later

I received a call from Blue Cube Pavilion KL saying that my phone is ready for collection. Got myself a new unit for replacement

That’s all for my recap post. To be continued in another post about the 6 Red Flags of Blue Cube Pavilion KL….

On the other hand, the government says the announcement is populist and can never be done thus it’s not a responsible promise to make.

We all know that we can only trust the mainstream media only when it comes to sports news (as long as it’s not local), so how feasible it is for the government to repay all the PTPTN loans for us?

This is the discussion for today.

How much do ex students owe PTPTN?

Well according to the government it is RM 43 Billion but according to claims by the Pakatan Rakyat it is only RM 28 Billion. So, which value should we take? Well it doesn’t really matter because it’s not the real issue.

Arguments for the motion

Among the arguments that support the motion are:

1. The country can actually afford it, if there was less corruption and wasteful spending
2. Education should be free like in Turkey and Germany
3. The students should not be burdened by so much loans when they are not even confirmed a job yet. What’s more the cost of living now is higher than it used to be.

Arguments against the motion

Among the arguments against the motion are :

1. It is a waste of funds that could be used for other development projects
2. Those who take loans should pay,  basic common sense.
3. The government can’t afford it anyway.

How I(myn) see it

From where I see it, this is not a simple issue,  because it involves matters of principals and my support depends on how you argue on the matter.

I’m all for free education until the tertiary level, but before that, we must change the evaluation process for the entry into university. It must not have a racial quota and must be on a merit basis, a balance between academic and co-curricular performance. Because if we want to pay for it (tax money at work), we would want the best persons to earn that privilege, so we get the best value for our money, so to speak.

I also believe that yes, if we can eliminate most of the corruption in the country, we can afford to waive payment for PTPTN loans, the question is should we? I myself am a PTPTN benefactor but I personally think I should not be exempted to pay back the loan.

Why?

Well, for me and I think most of the other students, we don’t use the PTPTN money just to pay for the university fees, but the money also goes into paying for every day expenses, buying hand phones, motorcycle stuff, entertainment and whatnot, so by writing off the loan is like the government subsidizing the students lifestyle. If this is the case, it is looking more like election candy that the Pakatan Rakyat is so against of which is always done by Barisan Nasional.

Then there is a question of public vs private universities. By writing off the Perbandanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional’s loans, it will mean the private tertiary institution students will in fact get more than the public university students, which is not really fair. But I’m sure the students won’t mind as long as the loan is written off.

However, if you argue rather than the money wasted in the hands of our beloved politicians, better to use the money to write off the loans, then I agree. But on the other hand, it’s better to use that money to make tertiary education free instead of paying off loans. It is not the same thing you know.

So what course of action is best?

Well, I think for earlier generation of National Higher Education Fund’s (PTPTN) loans, however you look at it, it’s not really appropriate to write off their loans on moral grounds. I mean because the money was not used 100% for study fees, it should be considered as a normal loan. Who doesn’t want for someone to pay for the loan they made, but what kind of attitude does that promote?

In short the previous system does not morally allow the writing off of the loans.

What the government can do is:

1. Free education up to the tertiary level (public unis only)
2. Maintain PTPTN, students can make loans for living expenses during studies or for the private university students to borrow.
3. Older PTPTN loans are a lost cause. No use pondering on it.

So in this way i hope a balance of student and government commitment towards education can be achieved and everybody will live happily ever after.

iMyn

P/S : I know Malaysia is a very political nation, but the views I have are my own. I do not support a particular party apart from the rakyat. Thank you very much.

CALL #1: Public Bank

The caller ID showed ’0309′ when this representative called me. It’s a lady that told me of this offer about consolidating my credit card debts. It means, get all my credit card debts into one big amount, and structure the monthly payment. Sounds good, right….? I was definitely interested and so I asked her this simple question, “Can I go to the branch and inquire about this offer?”…

Here comes the red flag….

She said, “No sir, this offer is only available via telephone.” [FLAG]

Needless to say, I thanked her for the offer and told her that I’m not interested.

CALL #2: Maybank (Card Center)

The caller ID shows a Klang Valley number (03-5xxx xxxx). I couldn’t recall the phone record since I’m on Nokia. My iPhone 4 is in the workshop (more on this later).

The Maybank lady called me and in the beginning of the phone call mentioned that “for continuous quality improvement, this conversation is recorded etc etc.”

The Offer: Sign up for one of their Maybank Petronas Ikhwan credit cards.

She went on to explain to me the benefits of the cards etc (no interest on interest charges, 5X TreatPoints and so forth).

Well, since I’m one with the Tiger, and anything that saves me money would definitely catch my attention, so I’m game!

And here comes the red flag….

Maybank Rep: Can I have your credit card number so we can convert it to the Ikhwan card? [FLAG]
Ken: Eh, you’re calling from Maybank right? Shouldn’t you already have my credit card info?
Maybank Rep: Yes sir, but this conversation is recorded and we are not allowed to share your credit card info in a recorded  conversation. [FLAG]
Ken: Then, I’m EVEN MORE uncomfortable disclosing my credit card info in this (recorded) conversation.
Maybank Rep: *nervous laugh*

So I asked her if the offer is available at the bank’s branch. To my delight, she said yes, it is.

CALL #3: CIMB Premier Customer

CIMB on the other hand, called me regarding my ‘value’ as their very important customer. [read: you're not spending enough money with CIMB, so we want you to bank more with us.]

The number was 03-2XXX XXXX. (yeap, I should’ve written about this two weeks back.)

Anyway, back to the call. This guy was quite persistent as he tried to get a hold on me three weeks back when my iPhone 4 was down. So he followed up and called me back the following week (two weeks ago.)

The offer: To upgrade me to be one of their Preferred Customers. I get prioritized access when dealing at the CIMB counters, there’s a special scheme for the Treat Points when I spend using CIMB credit card and so forth.

All that is required is for me to make an appointment and go to one of the CIMB’s branches and open a Current Account. That’s all.

No (red) flag on the play from the (red) bank.

Summary:

If you’re too mesmerized with the re-enactment of my tele-experiences, two things to remember:
1.) NEVER EVER disclose any credit/banking information in a phone call, ESPECIALLY when SOMEONE IS CALLING YOU. Even if you call the HelpLine because you forgot your PIN or anything, the point is to RESET your PIN or password; DO NOT DISCLOSE your password (“I think my password was XYZABCD…”)
2.) If you can’t call the person back, you’re FUCKED. End of story. That’s why I wasn’t down with Public Bank’s offer, regardless if she was genuine or not.

Don’t get FUCKED yo!

P/s: Ken can be personally contacted at ken[at]cekikdarah[dot]com if you haven’t figured out how to leave a comment.

Why are they in this mess in the first place?

Well, when Greece joined the European Union, they were made to agree on a set of rules. These rules include:

• minimum wage,
• unemployment benefits,
• social safety nets and
• other socialized stuff that are synonym with European countries.

These social safety nets generally are good and are practices of advanced nations. The problem is when you can’t afford to support these measures. So, Greece, wanting so much to join the EU agrees to implement these measures, which in the beginning they could afford to implement.

But Greece was not always like this.They were doing OK in the years after they started using the Euro as their currency in 2002, until the 2008 credit crisis that hit the world. Their tourism industry, which was a big part of its economy, was badly hit. Their GDP plummeted and the cost of running their country was still about the same (with all the safety nets and stuff).

That’s when they had to borrow.

But its OK, because joining the EU ‘club’ also gives you access to credit. So Greece borrows money in order to run their country. Borrowing itself is not a problem. But when you earn 1 Dollar per month and have a debt responsibility of 2 dollars per month, it is obvious what is going to happen. Their debt has surpassed their GDP or in simple terms, they borrow more than they can pay back. So as you know when you are in that state of affairs, your debt can only get higher and higher.

So this continues until Greece starts defaulting on payments. When this happens, your credit rating will go down. This credit rating is basically a yardstick on how likely a country can be able to pay back their loans and this in turn determines how much the interest rate on your loans are going to be. The lower the rating, the higher the risk of the loan and the higher the interest rate. These rates can vary from 10% to 40% or higher.

The problem is, Greece’s credit rating has become “junk” status because people know that there is no way Greece can pay back their loans. Their debt has surpassed their GDP. They can’t even issue bonds to raise money because no one wants to buy them because Greece’s credit rating is at “junk” status. Now they are stuck. Rescue packages and austerity measures  devised by the EU could only sustain them for weeks before they need more money. They are not just stuck, they’re stuck in between a rock and a hard place.

So what can they do to save themselves?

The problem in the first place was caused because they spend or borrowed more than they earn. So one thing they can do is to cut spending. However you can only cut so much spending before all hell breaks loose and riots start in the streets. Another way is to raise GDP or in other words, try to earn more.

This is surely a more sustainable way, right?

Or is it?

Raising the GDP

Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. (Wikipedia). To put it simply it’s how much the country earns. To raise the GDP, Greece has to increase its exports or exports of its services.

The crux of the matter is Greece is not really the best when it comes to industry. How often do you hear about a Greek branded car, or home appliances or even Greek Ice Cream exported to the world. I’m sure they export something out of their country but what are the chances that these products have the same quality as, lets say, German products?

To make matters worse, in the EU, every country uses the Euro as their currency which means the things they export are pretty much the same price as what the Germans export, only lower in quality. So who will buy their products? In a nutshell, their products are not competitive. It’s like selling a Proton in Europe at the price of a BMW.

One way to increase their competitiveness is  to convert back to using Greece’s old currency, the drachma, which is lower in value than the Euro. So while they cant compete with the Germans in quality, they can compete on pricing. This will then get their economy running and slowly move them out of debt. But immediately there is a problem. To do so, they would have to move out of the Eurozone, a move that  will never be agreed by Euro members. Besides, the fact that they are surviving on EU loans for being an EU member sort of puts them off that idea. Back to the drawing board.

So there you have it. The vicious circle that Greece is in. A very similar situation to Ah Long (loan shark)  cases we have back here in Malaysia. Greece has fallen in to the Ah Long trap and if steps are not taken to pull themselves out of it, the country will be a debt slave for generations to come.

The bottom line

Debt is the best known way to bound people. The system always find ways to get you into debt so that they can control you, in Greece’s case, they wanted to live the life as an EU member when they just could not afford it. So they borrowed, and borrowed more to pay for the borrowed money and now they are in a big problem.

That’s why the step by Tun Dr Mahathir not to take loans from IMF back in the Asian Economic Crisis back in 1997 was really a life saving move which saved the county from being bonded by the IMF. So, let’s just pray that our country does not go the same way as Greece.

iMyn