PTPTN and MARA updates


Just spoken to Chairman of Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN), Dr. Mohamad Shahrum bin Oshman, who is also MP for Lipis, on the complaint in this blog on PTPTN loan interest by Tee from Klang who just graduated from Multimedia University and wanted to begin payment for his RM66,000 PTPTN loan.

However, he was told that the old interest rate of 3% still applies although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced that the new rate of 1% would take effect from June 2008.

Mohamad Shahrum confirmed that the PTPTN interest is 1% and those who had paid 3% from June last year would have the excess credited to their account.

Thanks Mohamad Shahrum for the instant clarification which should put the issue to rest.

If Tee and other PTPTN borrowers have problems with the 1% loan interest, they are welcome to raise them here.

Other posters should be more indulgent with the English standard of posters, as they are victims of a system which saw the plunge of English language in Malaysia from global standards.

If posting their views and grievances on this blog can help in raising their English standards, this blog is glad to be of service.

(2) Re the June 2, 2009 post by a IPTS student “Have MARA run out of funds leaving hundreds stranded without their bumiputera student loans – and how can such a financial scandal happen?”, its all’s well that ends well.

I had raised the issue in the recent Parliament and I had written to the student whether he would want me to raise funds for him.

This is the email from the IPTS student which I received yesterday:

“Thanks for the offer YB Lim,

“I was busy with my final examination and i just got back from penang recently. For your information, i will be receiving Mara loan from next semester onwards. Thank you for your help YB Lim”

  1. #1 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 4:10 pm

    Well, that’s all right then. Except… I couldn’t tell (being a craven monoglot) whether the information on the PTPTN interest rate was available from their website. Is it? Or are you now the government’s receptionist? There’s a chance your blog could become very busy if it’s the only place Malaysians can find answers!

    Did he say when the interest would be repaid? I assume Tee would not have raised the issue if credits were already appearing on his loan statement.

  2. #2 by the reds on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 4:28 pm

    How come PTPTN website never update the latest interest rate in their loan repayment section, although the new interest rate took effect more than 1 year ago?

  3. #3 by disapointed86 on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 4:48 pm

    the reds : ..how come u ask this question?…. just understand how govn institutions work…that’s it…everything is clear….they will update it soon..(few more months)..

  4. #4 by chengho on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 5:34 pm

    can SS Tee write in good Bahasa Malaysia ?

  5. #5 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 5:57 pm

    No worry folks, plenty money coming
    Toyol is selling his brand new istana for RM5 million
    which will net him huge profits
    to be used to support students studying in local U
    See how a new pendatang from Indonesia
    made big bucks fast n furious
    NEP boleh!

  6. #6 by KeenWatcher_01 on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 6:30 pm

    Totally agree with Mr Lim. Posting comments here is not an English Essay Competition. So please be understanding. Once again, good work SS.

  7. #7 by Joshua on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 7:25 pm

    Anyone who is concerned about SS’s standard of English, should edit his letter and post it here so that others including SS can see where he can improve his writing.

    any volunteer please not just criticise. SS may feel hurt now. Please help this young man.

    pw: jumel Pincay

  8. #8 by tsn on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 8:20 pm

    His English might not be good, but his eagerness to pay back the loan should be applauded. Compare to many borrowers who defy the loans, this young man is worth our medal of honesty.

  9. #9 by sstee on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 9:01 pm

    for those who commented on my English, first i would like to apologize because i didn’t realize that my email will be post here and didn’t really take my time in writing it properly.

    In a summary, I had been taking PTPTN loan for my degree, which is a total of RM66,000. Based on the first agreement that i signed, the interest rate was around 3%. However, our GOOD PM announced that the interest rat of PTPTN shall be lowered to 1%, and claimed that this will apply to ALL students. 3% might be a small number, but for a RM66k loan, it can be a huge amount when u do the calculation properly.

    A quite follow-up with PTPTN office few weeks ago, they are still applying the old interest rate (which is around 3%) and saying that the conversion from 3% to 1% is still in progress (which took them 1 year !) and most important is they don’t know when the conversion or change or interest rate will finish.

    So, other than my English, i think the main issue here is that the problem has been there for long time, our government didn’t really go and solve it, and we, as students doesn’t have the proper channel to clarify or ask.

  10. #10 by guanteik on Tuesday, 7 July 2009 - 9:46 pm

    I do hear from my friends who are on PTPTN loan saying that the interest will be reduced to 1% provided they had signed on the new agreement. Till date, the agreement has not been sent out by PTPTN thought they had announced the interest rate will be reduced by June 2009. Now it’s July 2009.

  11. #11 by artemisios on Wednesday, 8 July 2009 - 9:35 am

    true tsn,
    i’ve seen people who’ve become senior executives or even managers but won’t pay back their study loan.

    This boy is sincere N that’s rare these days

    Dear Dr.Mohamad Shahrum,
    maybe PTPTN should give some discounts to people who pay quick or timely to encourage more borrowers.

    Perhaps the cost of giving those discounts are much smaller compared to having large number of borrowers refusing/unable to pay back.

  12. #12 by Emily Pratt on Wednesday, 8 July 2009 - 2:52 pm

    Joshua said “Anyone who is concerned about SS’s standard of English, should edit his letter and post it here so that others including SS can see where he can improve his writing.”

    Ask and ye shall get:

    ——Editing begin——————

    “First let me first introduce myself; I am Tee from Klang, Selangor. I’ve just recently graduated from The Multimedia University with B.Eng (HONS) Electronics.

    The PTPTN loan that I had received is RM66,000. I wish to start my repayment as soon as possible but I am still very confused about the current interest rate that applies to all the IPTA and IPTS students. From the statement that I received from PTPTN, they maintain the old rate. When I contacted them, they said that the conversion is still in progress. Until then, the old rate applies.

    Our PM had announced that a new rate of 1% will start with effect from June 2008. Why does PTPTN still uses the old rate? Why does it takes such a long time to convert to the new rate?

    They can’t give me exact date when I asked them to give me a tentative date. This mean I still have to pay at the old rate. I think that is unfair to all the students in Malaysia. In my opinion, PM shouldn’t make such announcement if it is not possible or it takes such long time to comply.

    I hope Mr. Lim can help me and all the students in similar predicament. RM 66,000 with interest might be a small sum for the government but it is a big amount for a fresh graduates like me and those who have family to support especially in the current economy slow down.”

    ———End of editing————–

    Emily Pratt.

  13. #13 by Darren Hawking on Wednesday, 8 July 2009 - 4:00 pm

    I have just checked my online statement from e-fes (http://epay.ptptn.gov.my/loan/ptptnlogin.jsp) and found the same.

    PTPTN is still charging 3% of “admin fee”. Just wonder how can the new rate effective June 2008 but yet to be implemented in July 2009.

    Maybe Dr. Khor should look into the KPI of this department.

  14. #14 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 8 July 2009 - 6:12 pm

    Well done, clap, clap
    But no need to worry about Queen’s English
    Flip flop flip flop
    Science n maths will not be taught in English soon
    Will be taught in BM n mother tongues once more
    Parents happy, kids happy, macam ini baru syiok
    MMK wasted so much money
    What happen now to the laptops and IT gadgets
    Now another round of get rich opportunities
    for various vendors (teaching materials n textbooks)
    Happy time is here again ……..

  15. #15 by sstee on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 2:35 pm

    just want to give u guys an updates.

    i received my first statement from PTPTN yesterday, guess what? the old rates 3% still applies.

    and today (3rd Dec 2009), around 215pm, i called PTPTN, they gave me the same reason again, “buat masa sekarang, 3% lagi, agreement baru akan kita hantar tahun depan, sain baru boleh dapat 1%” =.=”

    next year next year.. how many more next year? since june 2008 till now just to convert 3% to 1% ? i am seriously fade up with PTPTN and Malaysia, sorry to say this but i will 100% migrate if i got the chance, for the future of my family.

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