Showing posts with label hot topics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hot topics. Show all posts

Saturday, April 8, 2023

PTPTN finally announced 2022 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

After a long waiting, the Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has finally announced the dividend for year 2022 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of Simpan SSPN Prime which formerly known as SSPN-i, and Simpan SSPN Plus which formerly known as SSPN-i Plus) on 5 April 2023.

The 2022 SSPN dividend payout rate is only 3.05%, amounting to RM266.17 million. This rate is just 0.05% higher than last year disappointing dividend of 3.00%.

This 3.05% dividend has already credited into our SSPN accounts respectively on 6 April 2022.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 5.73 million.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

  • 2022: 3.05%
  • 2021: 3.00%
  • 2020: 4.00%
  • 2019: 4.00%
  • 2018: 4.00%
  • 2017: 4.00%
  • 2016: 4.00%
  • 2015: 4.00%
  • 2014: 4.25%
  • 2013: 4.25%
  • 2012: 4.25%
  • 2011: 3.75%
  • 2010: 3.25%
  • 2009: 2.50%
  • 2008: 4.00%
  • 2007: 4.00%
  • 2006: 4.00%
  • 2005: 4.00%
  • 2004: 3.00%


You can proceed to the new MyPTPTN website to check the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.

Beside that, the Ganjaran Kesetiaan Simpan SSPN Prime 2023 campaign is now launched and active until 30 April 2022. You can enjoy a 1% return for new money exceeding RM500 that you put into your account during the period, provided that the SSPN account you opened for your kid's education saving is before year 2020, and no withdrawal of any money from your account from 5 April 2023 onwards until 30 September 2023. Maximum amount to be given under this campaign would be RM8,000 per account.


Monday, October 31, 2022

Now you can check your Malaysian GE-15 actual polling location, channel and serial number online through MySPRSemak

Earlier on, all Malaysian citizens who are eligible to vote in the General Election (all citizens of age 18 years old and above should be automatically registered in the current system) can check for their election voter registration status online in MySPRSemark which is available in the form of:

Now, additional information is already available in the same MySPRSemak online, which includes:
  • Actual polling location (usually, a nearby school or community hall)
  • Voting channel
  • Serial number in the registration book
  • Date and time of the 15th General Election (GE-15) of Malaysia
  • Suggested time to go to the polling location to cast your vote

Eligible voters are advised to record down your voting channel and serial number to facilitate faster checking process in the polling location during the GE-15 day, either in your handphone or on a piece of paper, and also don't forget to bring along your MyKad to collect your voting tickets.

For the states that are having national and state general elections on the same day, you will get 2 voting tickets in different colour, one for national GE and another for state GE.


Wednesday, March 2, 2022

EPF declared 6.10% (conventional) / 5.65% (shariah) dividend for 2021

After an even longer waiting time than last year, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. KWSP) has finally declared the dividend rate for financial year 2021.

For year 2021, the dividend declared for conventional account is 6.10% while for Shariah account is 5.65%. The dividend will be credited into members' account soon, and you can check for it by login into your EPF i-Account.

Year 2021 was the 5th year of dividend declaration for Shariah account, while dividend for conventional account has been declared annually since 1952. The dividend for Shariah account in all the years from 2017 to 2021 were lower than the dividend for conventional account of the same year.


The 6.10% dividend for EPF conventional account in 2021 is 17.31% higher than the 5.20%  dividend declared for 2020 (last year).

Calculation: (6.10-5.20)/5.20 = 0.90/5.20 = 17.31%

It is 7.96% higher than the 5.65% Shariah dividend declared for the same year.

Calculation: (6.10-5.65)/5.65 = 0.45/5.65 = 7.96%

In year 2021, there are quite a lot of people has taken out a portion of their EPF savings through i-Sinar, i-Lestari and i-Citra schemes. Hopefully, their money withdrawn from EPF had put in good use. Otherwise, it would be wiser to leave the money with EPF to enjoy the 6.10% dividend.


Tuesday, February 22, 2022

PTPTN announced 2021 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

The Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has just announced quite a disappointing dividend for year 2021 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of Simpan SSPN Prime which formerly known as SSPN-i, and Simpan SSPN Plus which formerly known as SSPN-i Plus) on 22 February 2022.

The 2021 SSPN dividend payout rate is only 3%, amounting to RM206.25 million. This rate is the second-worst since inception, just slightly above the worst dividend in 2009 of 2.5%.

This 3% dividend will be credited into our SSPN accounts respectively on 25 February 2022.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 5.24 million.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

  • 2021: 3.00%
  • 2020: 4.00%
  • 2019: 4.00%
  • 2018: 4.00%
  • 2017: 4.00%
  • 2016: 4.00%
  • 2015: 4.00%
  • 2014: 4.25%
  • 2013: 4.25%
  • 2012: 4.25%
  • 2011: 3.75%
  • 2010: 3.25%
  • 2009: 2.50%
  • 2008: 4.00%
  • 2007: 4.00%
  • 2006: 4.00%
  • 2005: 4.00%
  • 2004: 3.00%

You can proceed to the Online SSPN-i Statement of Account website to check the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.

You are also highly encouraged to read about Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost.

Beside that, the Ganjaran Kesetiaan Simpan SSPN Prime 2022 campaign is now launched and active until 30 April 2022. You can enjoy a 1% return for new money exceeding RM500 that you put into your account during the period, provided that no withdrawal of any money from your account until 31 July 2022. Maximum amount to be given under this campaign would be RM8,000 per account.


Friday, December 10, 2021

K8 body temperature infra-red thermometer powered by USB

Nowadays, infra-red thermometers are widely used in a lot of places to capture our body temperature, especially for COVID-19 preventive measure at the entrance of most commercial premises.

Infra-red thermometer has the following advantages:

  • Non-contact way of measuring body temperature
  • Fast measurement time of around 1 second
  • Pretty accurate if there is no other infra-red source around that might interfere with its signal receiver
  • Affordable price
For home and personal use, if we want to buy an infra-red thermometer, we might want to look for the following features:
  • Small and lightweight, easy to carry along, and save storage space
  • Accurate reading
  • Non-battery powered, since we are not going to use it frequently
  • Cheap price
I found the K8 body temperature infra-red thermometer that operates with DC 5V and powered by USB, cost slightly above RM10, is an ideal one to be used.


This small little device actually has 3 variants of power source connector: USB-C, micro-USB and lightning connector. If you want a future proof one, choose the one with USB-C connector.

It can be powered by the USB port of handphone...


or powered by the USB port of other devices, such as a laptop.


There is a button at its back to switch its reading between Celsius and Fahrenheit.

It will beep when it captured a new temperature reading in the rage between 32 °C to 42 °C. You will most probably get the same temperature when placing your forehead or palm in front of it.


Friday, December 3, 2021

Self COVID-19 testing by saliva with Sejoy SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test kit

There will be occasions that you need to do a COVID-19 self-test, to ensure that you are free from COVID-19 infection, before you attend certain events or enter into certain premises.

There are generally 4 types of COVID-19 self-testing kit available in the market now:

  • Nasal swab specimen test
  • Mouth swab specimen test
  • Nasal + mouth swab specimens test
  • Saliva specimen test
Among them, I find the saliva specimen test type is the easiest to use, cheapest to buy, and does not cause any discomfort during specimen collection.

You can get the Sejoy SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test kit at a price of slightly below RM5 per box (for single test) in Mr. DIY, 99 Speedmart, pharmacies, online e-commerce stores, and some other places.


A brief instruction on how to use it is printed at the back of its packaging box.


There is also detailed instruction printed on a large piece of paper inside the box.

Here are the steps to use it:
  • Do not eat or smoke or drink anything other than plain water at least 30 minutes before the test.
  • Wash your mouth with plain water.
  • Use a knife or scissor to unseal the box by breaking its "QC Passed" sealing sticker.
  • Take out its content.
  • Assemble the saliva collection funnel kit on top of the extraction tube.
  • Collect your saliva into the extraction tube until the saliva is slightly on top of the level mark you can see near the bottom of the extraction tube.
  • Remove the saliva collection funnel kit and put it inside the biohazard waste bag.
  • Put the extraction tube into the hole at the back of the packaging box, so that it won't fall down.
  • Unseal the extraction reagent bag.
  • Drop all the extraction reagent liquid into the extraction tube by squeezing on its bag.
  • Cover up the extraction tube with its attached stopper.
  • Mix your saliva with the extraction reagent by shaking the extraction tube for about 1 minute.
  • Take out the test cassette from its aluminum foil pouch.
  • Drop 2 drops of the mixture in the extraction tube by squeezing the tube on top of the "S" area on the test cassette.
  • You will see the liquid slowly moving from one end of the test paper to the other end. The paper will become purple in colour during the movement, and will change back to white after the movement.
  • The test result should be ready in 15-20 minutes.

  • The control line at "C" position should appear, otherwise the test is not successful, and you will need to redo the test again with a new test kit.
  • If you see another line at "T" position, your test result is COVID-19 positive. If there is no line at "T" position, congratulations, your test result is COVID-19 negative.
  • After the test, insert everything (except the large instruction paper) into the biohazrd waste bag, seal it before disposal.

After using the COVID-19 self-testing kit, you are required to report the test result in MySejahtera app regardless your test result is positive or negative.
  • Open up MySejahtera app in your mobile device.
  • Tap on the "Close" button to close the front page.
  • Tap on the "COVID-19 Self Test" icon.
  • Select "Update Self-Test Result".
  • Continue to follow the on-screen instructions to complete your reporting.

The COVID-19 self-testing kit is labelled with manufacturing lot number, year and month of manufacture, and also the year and month of expiry. At first I thought I'd need to key-in these information in the report, but it ends up I just need to report on whether my test result is positive or negative.

If you are tested COVID-19 positive, then you should reconfirm by taking another test with a new test kit.

If both the tests are showing COVID-19 positive, please isolate yourself immediately, and contact MOH immediately. You can click here to get the MOH COVID-19 hotline contacts.


Sunday, October 24, 2021

Upgraded my Roborock S7 cleaning robot with its auto-empty dock that supports both bag and bagless debris emptying

When I bought my cleaning robot, I have chosen Roborock S7 instead of S6-Max or S5-Max because I knew it is the model that can pair with Roborock auto-empty dock.

In fact, I find it quite difficult to empty out the dust in the Roborock S7 dust box because the debris can be trapped in quite a lot of places inside the dust box. The only effective way to quickly empty it out is to vacuum out the debris, which is exactly what the Roborock auto-empty dock function to do. As such, I suspect that the dust box is designed that way to entice people to buy its auto-empty dock to make life easier.

Currently, there are already 3 generations of Roborock auto-empty dock:

  • The 1st generation can only work with disposable 1.8 litre dust bag, which can easily hold debris for more than a month.
  • The 2nd generation has a cyclone separator unit to collect debris into its dusbin without dust bag. Alternatively, it can also work with the disposable dust bag by replacing the cyclone separator in it with the dust bag components.
  • The 3rd generation, not available to S7 yet, is able to automatically refill the robot's water tank and clean the robot's mopping cloth, besides emptying out the debris from the robot's dust box.
If you intend to buy a Roborock auto-empty docking station, I strongly encourage you to buy the 2nd generation that comes with both the cyclone separator and also the dust bag holder and disposable dust bag. I bought it at the price of slightly above RM1,600 in Banggood online shop.


The Roborock auto-empty dock has 2 colour selections: black and white. The Roborock S7 cleaning robot also has black and white selections.

I find that mixing the colour between the robot and its auto-empty dock also looks nice and would not cause any dissonance. Here is my white Robock S7 and its black auto-empty dock.


You can see that I have already replaced its cyclone separator with its disposable dust bag unit. In this way, I don't need to clean its dustbin, as all the debris will be stored inside the 1.8L dust bag.

Its cyclone separator looks like lotus seedpods. The Roborock auto-empty dock user manual has the instruction to change it with the dust bag unit, and vice-versa.


The Roborock auto-empty dock comes in 2 pieces after unboxing, which we need to assemble its body onto its base by screwing 5 screws that are marked with the screwdriver sign. An L-shape screwdriver is available at the base for that purpose.

The Roborock auto-empty dock comes with a dust box with an air-inlet, to replace the one in the S7. You will need to remove a lit that covers the air-inlet window in the S7 robot too. Detail instruction is given in the user manual.

The debris in the robot's dust box is sucked into the left cylinder of the dock station, and then settles down in the right cylinder, either in its dust bag or directly in the dustbin.

There are 2 filters inside the left cylinder, namely the rear HEPA filter and the front cup filter, both are removable and washable.

After the Roborock S7 robot made its first docking onto this auto-empty docking station, you will find additional functions for this auto-empty dock in the Roborock mobile apps.

The left button at the bottom of the main page has changed to "Empty Dustbin".


There is also an Auto-Empty Settings menu option, in which you can set the empty mode to be either smart, light, balanced, or max.


When assembling this Roborock auto-empty dock, I was amused by its state-of-the-art brilliant and beautiful design, which is a combination of engineering, art, practicality, hygiene, and user experience. It's just amazing. You could be feeling the same when you assemble a unit too.

Note that when the robot is docked onto this auto-empty docking station, it is pretty tightly "sucked" on it and not manually removable, unless by force, which is a big no-no.

If you want to bring the robot to another place for multi-floor cleaning, you can detach it from the docking station by using the Remote Control function in its mobile app. Just control it to move backward, and it will come out from its docking station.

In certain countries, Roborock has bundled them together as S7+. If you see the S7+ model, it is actually an S7 rebot that comes together with its auto-empty dock. But, you need to beware that the auto-empty dock in the S7+ might be of the first generation, without the cyclone separator.


Sunday, October 10, 2021

Caltex RM5 cashback with CaltexGO pump-and-go mobile app

As you might have been aware, Caltex Malaysia has recently introduced the CaltexGO pump-and-go mobile app, available in Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Apparently, it is the same CaltexGO mobile app already in used in Caltex Singapore and Caltex Thailand for the same purpose of enabling contactless and cashless petrol refueling at their petrol station.

This is an enhancement to the existing Caltax tap, pump and go system, which you need to slot in your JOURNEY card to collect BPoints, then tap your credit card or debit card at the petrol pump terminal to refuel your vehicle.

Now, with the CaltexGO mobile app, you can bind your JOURNEY card and your credit/debit card with your user account, and you can refuel your vehicle at Caltex petrol station even without bringing those cards along with you.

CaltexGO will auto-detect the Caltex petrol station you are located at with your mobile phone GPS location detection service. You just need to enter your petrol pump terminal number into the app, then lift the petrol pump and start refueling. When you put back the pump to the terminal, your bill will be instantly generated, and you just tap a confirm button to pay for it. Your JOURNEY card loyalty points will be automatically credited too.

Currently CaltexGO in Malaysia only support VISA or Mastercard credit card or debit card. Hopefully e-wallets will be included too in the future.

As a welcome offer to encourage usage of CaltexGO mobile app, Caltex Malaysia is currently giving out RM5 cashback for petrol refueling of RM30 and above, until 31st December 2021.


Your RM5 cashback will be automatically used during your next petrol refueling of RM30 and above at Caltex station using CaltexGO. You will see it as "promotion discount" in your bill, as shown above. Your bills are paperless and stored in your app, so you can always track back your historical petrol refueling transactions in Caltex station.

This means that you will not immediately get the RM5 cashback during your first time using CaltexGO to pump petrol of RM30 and above. The next time and all subsequent times you do the same, you will get the RM5 cashback automatically, until the end of promotion period on 31st December 2021.

RM5 is equivalent to 16.67% of RM30, which is a pretty good offer, isn't it?



Friday, September 10, 2021

Webinar: Syariah & ESG investing (by BIMB) Malaysia economic outlook (by PNB)

There will be a free webinar on next Tuesday night in Zoom by Rakuten Trade, about Shariah & ESG (environmental, social & governance) Investing - by panelist from Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) Chief Economist Dr. Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, and also Malaysia Economic Outlook in 2022 - by panelist from Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) Head of Research Mohd Redza Abdul Rahman.


Topic: Shariah & ESG Investing and Malaysia Economic Outlook

Date: Tuesday 14 September 2021

Time: 08:00 PM

Meeting ID: 959 2522 3469

Passcode: 674853


You can click this link to join the webinar at that time.

Rakuten Trade is a wholly online Bursa Malaysia stock trading platform, a joint venture between Kenanga Investment Bank and Japanese-based Rakuten Securities, which has been in service since 2017.

You can use this link to open free stock trading account with Rakuten Trade, and get 500 RT points upon account activation. The RT points can be used to offset your stock trading brokerage fee.

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

My Roborock S7 hybrid vacuum and mop robot cleaner

Finally, I have retired my 4 years old Neato XV-11 robotic vacuum cleaner and replaced it with a new Roborock S7 which has both vacuum and mop function.


  


The Roborock S7 is currently selling at the price of RM2xxx. You should be able to get it at a lower price of RM2,099 during certain online promotion period. It is slightly more expensive than Roborock S6 MaxV.



The main differences of Roborock S7 from its previous versions including:
  • It is the first, and currently the only, Roborock model that supports Roborock auto empty dock. Anyhow, the Roborock auto empty dock is sold separately, and the price is quite high too.
  • It comes with Roborock's new innovation in vibration mopping technology that can scrub the floor at up to 3,000 cycles per minute, to be more effectively remove dried and stubborn stains on the floor.
  • It comes with new VibraRise technology, which, when it's ultrasonic sensor accurately detects a carpet underneath, it will automatically lift up its mopping cloth so that not to wet up the carpet, at the same time able to increase its vacuum suction power to clean up the carpet area.
However, the Roborock S7 does not come with A.I. cameras as in Roborock S6 MaxV, therefore missing the function of being able to "see" and avoid obstacles that block its path.
 
Roborock S7 can be configured and controlled using the Roborock mobile app, and also with your favourite voice assistant such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Tmall Genie (天猫精灵), Xiaomi Xiaoai Classmate (小爱同学), etc. You can even control it using Xiaomi Mi Home app too.

One thing I like is that Roborock supports multilingual, although it can only use one language at a time. It will report its status with voice using your preferred language, which can be English, Chinese, Deutsch, Espanol, Francais, Italiano, Russian, Hebrew, Polski, Portugues, Ramana, Turk, Thai, Viet, Indonesian, Malay, etc.


Before start using it, you will need to connect Roborock S7 to your home WiFi, which in turn connected to the Internet. The Roborock mobile app in your handphone is able to auto-detect the Roborock robot cleaner nearby, and push your home WiFi settings to the robot.

Roborock S7 only support 2.4GHz WiFi up to Wireless-N. The 5Ghz WiFi and WiFi 6 are not supported. Anyhow, the 2.4GHz WiFi has the longest reaching range among them, and this is crucial for the Roborock S7 to get connected in order to work properly.

Roborock uses LiDAR navigation technology to scan and map your house. The map is stored in the cloud under your own Roborock account. You can share your robot with other Roborock users, and once shared, they will have access to your robot settings including the maps too.

You can also install Roborock app in multiple mobile devices and login with the same account, and all of them will have synchronized robot settings and information.

Roborock S7 supports multi-level mapping. Up to 4 maps can be stored for each robot.



The floor map of your house will be automatically drawn with LiDAR navigation during its first usage, and it is pretty accurate. The carpet area(s) are also identified and marked in the map.

After the map is drawn and saved, you can separate it into different rooms, or to merge rooms into larger one. You can configure it so that different room can have different intensity of cleaning and/or mopping.

As one of the standard features, you can draw virtual wall(s) on the map to prevent the robot from crossing over. You can also define certain area(s) on the map, such as your toilet or staircase, as no-go zone. You can also specify certain area(s) to be vacuum only without mopping (the no-mop zone).

This way of setting blockage to the robot using software configuration is much more better and much convenient than my Neato XV-11 way of using physical magnetic stripes.

Roborock S7 supports 4 levels of vacuum power, 4 levels of mopping scrub intensity, and 2 levels of mopping route. This enable you to ask the robot to clean more thoroughly in certain areas, such as the dining room and kitchen area, than the rest of your house.


Another standard feature is scheduling for its cleaning routine. It is fully customizable, as shown in the screenshot below.



Roborock keeps its cleaning history in the app. You can see its entire cleaning path and time taken in the history. This assure you that the cleaning was done properly and according to your instruction.


The Roborock app has a section to show the estimated time remaining for the replacement of wear-and-tear parts of the robot, as well as the time for upcoming maintenance, such as cleaning its sensors to upkeep its performance.


The Roborock app even comes with manual remote control function, for you to drive and control the robot like a remote control car, to move it to your preferred location. There are even 2 different modes of remote control - buttons and joystick.


Just like other cleaning robots, although the Roborock can help you to do automated floor cleaning, it is not the set-and-forget type. There are still 3 items that you need to periodically do, namely:
  • To take out its mopping cloth and wash it, then put it back. This should be done after every mopping.
  • To take out its dustbin box and empty it. Wash and then put it back. This should be done when the dustbin box is about to be fully filled up.
  • To take out its water tank and wash it. Refill with water and put it back. The water tank should be able to supply water for 2-3 times mopping of a typical terrace house.
If you have purchased the Roborock auto empty dock, then the dock will handle the job of emptying the dustbin box for you. You just need to replace the dust bag of the auto empty dock every few weeks.

One thing I dislike is that this Roborock S7 only comes with one mopping cloth. I would suggest you to buy a few more mopping clothes for changing, so that you have more time to do the washing and drying.

Note that the mopping cloth of Roborock S7 is different from the mopping cloth used in older versions - S6 MaxV, S6, S5 Max, etc. This is because of the new vibration mopping function. As such, make sure you buy the correct mopping cloth for Roborock S7 to be compatible with its base.


Thursday, June 3, 2021

Online check your latest COVID-19 vaccination appointment status

There are basically 3 ways to check your latest COVID-19 vaccination appointment status:

  • Check inside MySejahtera mobile app, under COVID-19 Vaccination function
  • Check with JKJAV website
  • Make a phone call to toll free number 1800-888-828
Using either one of the above channels, you can check for the vaccination status for yourself, as well as the status for your dependent(s) registered with your phone number.

The checking applied to both the conventional vaccination registration and also the voluntary AstraZeneca vaccine immunization registration in Malaysia.

Certain people found that even though they had successfully secured a slot for AstraZeneca vaccination, the appointment info is not shown inside their MySejahtera mobile app.

If you found yourself or your dependent to be in such situation, you can click here to double-check with JKJAV website, or make a call to 1800-888-828.


You will need to provide the identity no. of yourself or your dependent, and the phone no. that you've used to register your MySejahtera app.

After that, you should be able to see your vaccination appointment status on the next screen.



This information should be in sync with the same piece of information shown in your MySejahtera app. If they are not in sync, you should make a call to 1800-888-828 for clarification.


Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Free post-vaccination insurance coverage for COVID-19 by Chubb

Chubb is giving out free insurance, provided to Malaysian citizens age 18-70 years old, without any charge or payment of premium needed, for COVID-19 vaccination.


You might have already received email from AirAsia BIG Rewards regarding this initiative, as AirAsia BIG Rewards is a joint-organizer for this "Complete a Survey,  Get Free 14-Day  Post Vaccination Insurance & Be Rewarded" campaign.

This insurance covers up to 2 times of COVID-19 vaccination within Malaysia, with approved vaccine taken on or before 31 December 2022.

The insurance benefits:

  • In the event of hospital confinement as a result of adverse reaction following immunisation (within 14 consecutive days from your most recent COVID-19 vaccination), a daily income of RM200 (up to a maximum of 14 days) can be claimed.
  • In the event of accidental death as a result of accidental injury within 14 consecutive days after each of your vaccination, an amount of RM5,000 can be claimed.
The coverage shall start upon your successful enrolment with Chubb by submitting an online enrolment form in their website. Note that the protection period is within 14 days right after you have taken your COVID-19 vaccinations.



Sunday, February 28, 2021

EPF declared 5.2% (conventional) / 4.9% (shariah) dividend for 2020

After a long time waiting, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. KWSP) has finally declared the dividend rate for financial year 2020.

For year 2020, the dividend declared for conventional account is 5.2% while for Shariah account is 4.9%. The dividend has already credited into members' account, and you can check for it by login into your EPF i-Account.

Year 2020 was the 4th year of dividend declaration for Shariah account, while dividend for conventional account has been declared annually since 1952. The dividend for Shariah account in all the years from 2017 to 2020 were lower than the dividend for conventional account of the same year.



The 5.20% dividend for EPF conventional account in 2020 is 4.59% lower than the 5.45%  dividend declared for 2019 (last year).

Calculation: (5.20-5.45)/5.45 = -0.25/5.45 = -4.59%

It is 6.12% higher than the 4.90% Shariah dividend declared for the same year.

Calculation: (5.20-4.90)/4.90 = 0.30/4.90 = 6.12%

The table below shows the historical EPF dividend payout rate since 2000, for you to judge yourself whether the dividend payout rate in 2020 is satisfactory or not.



Thursday, February 25, 2021

How to register for COVID-19 vaccination using MySejahtera mobile app

You can now register for COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysia using MySejahtera mobile app.

Before you start, make sure you have already updated the MySejahtera app in your phone to the latest version, which should be Version 1.0.29 (dated 24 Feb 2021) or above.

After opening the MySejahtera app, tap on the Close button at the top right corner to enter its main screen.


Then, tap on COVID-19 Vaccination for the registration.


On the next screen, you should be able to see "Vaccine for <your name>". Tap on it.

On the next screen, remember to tap on CLICK HERE to fill up the form. Do not tap on the Close button without filling up the form.


Fill in the questionnaire, and your registration will complete when you are able to see the Thank You screen as below.


Now, you just need to wait for your vaccination appointment message for the next course of action.

You might want to repeat the same process above for your family members registered in your MySejahtera app. Just select their name and fill up the questionnaire for them to complete their vaccination registration.


Wednesday, February 24, 2021

PTPTN announced 2020 dividend for SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus

The Malaysia National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, PTPTN) has just announced dividend for year 2020 for the education savings schemes SSPN (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional, consists of SSPN-i and SSPN-i Plus) on 23 February 2021.


The 2020 SSPN dividend payout rate is 4%, amounting to RM201.3 million. This rate is the same as previous payout for 2015-2019.

This 4% dividend has already been credited into our SSPN accounts respectively on 24 February 2021.

In 2020, the amount of deposits in  SSPN was RM1.99 billion, with 436,101 new accounts opened by depositors.

According to PTPTN, the number of SSPN accounts opened to date is 4.82 million.

Historical SSPN-i dividend payout rate is as below:

·   2020: 4.00%

·   2019: 4.00%

·   2018: 4.00%

·   2017: 4.00%

·   2016: 4.00%

·   2015: 4.00%

·   2014: 4.25%

·   2013: 4.25%

·   2012: 4.25%

·   2011: 3.75%

·   2010: 3.25%

·   2009: 2.50%

·   2008: 4.00%

·   2007: 4.00%

·   2006: 4.00%

·   2005: 4.00%

·   2004: 3.00%

You can proceed to the Online SSPN-i Statement of Account website to check the transactions and amount of savings in your kid's SSPN account.

You are also highly encouraged to read about Online paying PTPTN / SSPN-i with credit card through Boost.


Sunday, October 18, 2020

Maxis officially supports Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) calls, finally

Among the major mobile carriers in Malaysia, Digi is the first mover in Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service, enabling voice calls, video calls and SMS to be handled through 4G LTE network since a few years ago, in 2016. UMobile had also followed suit in 2017.

Without VoLTE, only data is handled by 4G LTE. When the phone is calling out or receiving an incoming call while it is in 4G LTE network, it will need to temporary fall back to 3G network to handle the call, and revert back to 4G LTE network after the call hang up. The switching from 4G to 3G will take some times (can be as slow as a few seconds). You can experiment and feel the latency time by putting 2 phones together and make a call from one to another, then calculating how long you need to wait to pick up the call.

Celcom and Maxis are among the last to offer VoLTE service to their subscribers. Celcom has made available VoLTE service to selected iPhone models only in March 2020.

Now, Maxis finally also rolls out VoLTE to both Maxis postpaid and Hotlink postpaid subscribers who use selected iPhone and Android phones that support VoLTE function. Currently supported brands include iPhone, Huawei, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, ZTE, and Vivo.


VoLTE enables much faster call connection, since both of the connecting phones no longer need to fall back to 3G network to establish the call.

The voice quality will also improved by making good use of LTE higher bandwidth. If the caller and recipient phones are both using VoLTE, the call can be established with High Definition (HD) voice quality.

When you are on VoLTE call, switching between voice and voice call is possible. Your Internet activities and data transfer also won't be affected during the call, unlike the previous GSM call that will pause your Internet activities during a call.

Note that your phone needs to be within the coverage of 4G LTE network in order to enjoy the benefit of using VoLTE. If the phone is connected with 3G network, its call will still be using the traditional GSM method.



Saturday, September 26, 2020

Pay TNB electricity bill and other bills online with e-Wallet (Boost, GrabPay, TnG eWallet) using POS Malaysia App

There used to be several online channels that you are able to pay TNB electricity bill online by using your e-Wallet money. Unfortunately, most of those online channels no longer accept TNB electricity bill payment since a few months ago.

Besides, it is also very hard to find an online channel that can pay for Indah Water sewerage treatment bill using your e-Wallet money.

Luckily, this has been made possible now with POS Malaysia App, which you can find in Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It supports bill payment using Boost, GrabPay, TnG eWallet and also FPX bank transfer.


You don't even need to create a user account to make bill payments in POS Malaysia App. Just tap on Bill Payment and follow the steps to make your bill payment.


Currently available bill payments through the app including:

  • TNB electricity bill
  • Water bill in various states
  • Indah Water
  • Astro
  • Maxis
  • Celcom
  • Time Internet
You will need to provide information about your biller's Account No. and payment amount before reaching the payment page. Option is given for you to save the biller's Account No. in the app, so that you don't need to key-in the long chunk of number the next time you want to pay to the same account.


Thursday, September 17, 2020

Yoodo unveiled customizable unlimited data plan on top of existing high-speed data plan

Yoodo has been known to offer high-speed data plan with usage quota that has uncapped speed and uncapped hotspot tethering.

Now, Yoodo has unveiled a new customizable unlimited data plan on top of the existing high-speed data plan, so that users can configure their data plan at the best of their need.

The maximum speed of Yoodo unlimited data plan is capped at either 3 Mbps or 6 Mbps.


Current price for 3 Mbps unlimited data plan is RM35 per month, and for 6 Mbps is RM43 per month.

Both of the 3 Mbps and 6 Mbps unlimited data plan come with:
  • Free 2GB of hotspot tethering quota
  • Free 2GB of data roaming quota
  • Free 50 minutes of voice call
Additional hotspot tethering quota, voice call minutes and SMS quantity can be purchased by user configuration in Yoodo app.

Yoodo SIM card is available for free and will be sent to your address, just click here to order it. You can also buy the Yoodo SIM card at 99 Speedmart at the minimal price of RM2.

New users who activate their Yoodo account using this referral code "cwqhp2909" will get free 7GB of high-speed data quota during first subscription month.


Monday, September 7, 2020

Hotlink Postpaid has increased data quota without additional charge since 5 September 2020

Hotlink Postpaid by Maxis has been around for quite some times, offering 3 different packages with different data quota limit, namely Hotlink Postpaid 30, Hotlink Postpaid 40 and Hotlink Postpaid 60.

All the 3 of them come with unlimited calls and unlimited SMS. The Hotlink Postpaid 60 plan also comes with an optional mid-range Android handphone bundle.

In August 2019, Hotlink had upgraded their Postpaid 40 and Postpaid 60 plans with additional high speed YouTube data, without additional charge, as shown in the middle table below.


Now, Hotlink has just upgraded all the 3 postpaid plans again with additional data quota, from 5 September 2020 onwards, without additional charge, as shown in the bottom table above.

If you have observed your monthly data utilization carefully, you will note that the YouTube quota in these Hotlink postpaid plans actually encompasses all the Google services, including YouTube, Play Store, Gmail, etc.

This upgrade is somehow seen as a response to the upgrade of Celcom XP Lite Postpaid Plans to include unlimited YouTube since early July 2020.


Friday, August 7, 2020

Bursa Malaysia RM150 cashback for ETF investment

There are 19 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) listed in Bursa Malaysia, and majority of them are thinly traded.

One of the more active one is GOLDETF (0828EA), which is also risen the most among the ETFs in Bursa Malaysia, with more than 28% 1 year historical return as of today.

Bursa Malaysia has just rolled out an ETF cashback program. An investor who invests (buys) one or multiple Bursa-listed ETFs with cumulative value of RM3,000 and above within the program period will be eligible to receive Touch ‘n Go eWallet Reload PIN worth RM150.


Terms and conditions:
  • Program period is valid from 3 August to 2 November, 2020.
  • Investors who invest (buy) one or multiple Bursa-Listed ETFs (stock code beginning with "08") with cumulative value of RM3,000 and above within the Program period will be eligible to receive a Touch ' Go eWallet Reload PIN worth RM150.
  • All above ETF buy trades must be carried out in the investor's Direct CDS Account.
  • Investors who have not made any buy or sell trades in Bursa-listed ETFs from 1 January 2020 until 2 August 2020 are eligible for this Program.
  • Limited to the first 500 eligible investors only.

Hint: Click on the "Older Posts" link to continue reading, or click here for a listing of all my past 3 months articles.