Teamwork made Man brainier, say scientists

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Learning to work in teams may explain why humans evolved a bigger brain, according to a new study published on Wednesday.

Compared to his hominid predecessors, Homo sapiens is a cerebral giant, a riddle that scientists have long tried to solve.

The answer, according to researchers in Ireland and Scotland, may lie in social interaction.



Working with others helped Man to survive, but he had to develop a brain big enough to cope with all the social complexities, the experts believe. – Reuters Photo

In a computer model, the team simulated the human brain, allowing a network of neurons to evolve in response to a series of social challenges.

There were two scenarios. The first entailed two partners in crime who had been caught by the police, each having to decide whether or not to inform on the other.

The second had two individuals trapped in a car in a snowdrift and having to weigh whether to cooperate to dig themselves out or just sit back and let the other do it.

In both cases, the individual would gain more from selfishness.

But the researchers were intrigued to find that as the brain evolved, the individual was likelier to choose to cooperate.

"We cooperate in large groups of unrelated individuals quite frequently, and that requires cognitive abilities to keep track of who is doing what to you and change your behaviour accordingly," co-author Luke McNally of Dublin's Trinity College told AFP.

McNally pointed out, though, that cooperation has a calculating side. We do it out of reciprocity.

"If you cooperate and I cheat, then next time we interact you could decide: 'Oh well, he cheated last time, so I won't cooperate with him.' So basically you have to cooperate in order to receive cooperation in the future."

McNally said teamwork and bigger brainpower fed off each other.

"Transitions to cooperative, complex societies can drive the evolution of a bigger brain," he said.
"Once greater levels of intelligence started to evolve, you saw cooperation going much higher."

The study appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a journal published by Britain's de-facto academy of sciences.

Commenting on the paper, Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford University, said the findings were a valuable add to understanding brain evolution.

But he said there were physiological limits to cooperation.

Man would need a "house-sized brain" to take cooperation to a perfect level on a planet filled with humans.

"Our current brain size limits the community size that we can manage ... that we feel we belong to," he said.
Our comfortable "personal social network" is limited to about 150, and boosting that to 500 would require a doubling of the size of the brain.

"In order to create greater social integration, greater social cohesion even on the size of France, never mind the size of the EU, never mind the planet, we probably have to find other ways of doing it" than wait for evolution, said Dunbar.

By Mariette le Roux AFP

Give but be gracious in receiving as well

IT'S a common enough scene at restaurants, diners fighting to pay the bill. Some say it's a Malaysian thing.

We also know that some people give the impression of wanting to pay and are able to cleverly ensure that the wallet would conveniently stay in the pocket when the bill arrives.

I was having lunch with my wife at a restaurant recently and two gentlemen at an adjoining table, after finishing their meal, did just that. It was quite a scene, though in a good-humoured way, with the waiter caught in the middle.

I was quite tempted to tell them that if they were both so keen about paying, how about settling my bill as well.

I am not sure who paid in the end but it got me thinking about the joy of giving and receiving.
You cannot have one without the other.

And while we may say that it is better to give than to receive, without the act of receiving, you cannot let the other person experience the joy of giving.

Let me be clear here that I am not talking about bribery where it is absolutely wrong to be either the giver or the receiver, even if the corrupt think there is much joy in the process.

It is part of our human nature to give, be it of our time or our money. We feel good when we help someone who is going through a bad patch, donate to a charity or volunteer to teach at an orphanage.

And it is even better when we do all this without drawing attention to ourselves.

A wise saying puts it this way: “When you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

But what about receiving?

People who are very generous in their giving are sometimes highly uncomfortable when it comes to receiving.

Perhaps they think there is an ulterior motive involved.

So, instead of simply saying thanks, they give us the impression that the reason for our giving is suspect.

And then there are those who, even if they receive your gift, will take the next opportunity to give you something back, often of equivalent value.

So, the true spirit of giving and receiving is totally lost here.

A general rule of thumb when we are blessed by someone is to pass on the blessing, not to reciprocate or pay for it.

Because of my stints as a full-time househusband and also working for a charity organisation, it is quite normal for my friends to pay whenever we have a meal together.

Perhaps, out of habit, they still do so and I have to remind them that I can now afford to pay the bill.

Normally, to avoid a scene, I would leave my credit card or money with the waiter ahead of the meal.

Last Sunday, I was having breakfast with two dear friends when an elderly man at the next table recognised me although we had never met before. He was reading The Sunday Star and we had a nice chat.

He said goodbye and then the waiter came up to us and said our bill had been settled. Thank you Mr Wong, I certainly receive this breakfast treat from you with a grateful heart.

So, friends, today as you go out for a meal, remember this. Though it is better to give than to receive, be gracious in receiving as well. You could make someone really happy. There really is no need to fight over the bill.

> Deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin appreciates being on the receiving end of kind words, sincere fellowship and heart-to-heart conversations, underscoring the fact that the best things in life are not only free, but priceless.

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FCC Proposes: Fine for Google Wi-Fi snooping 'obstruction'

By TheStreet Staf

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission has proposed fining Google(GOOG_) $25,000 for obstructing an investigation into the company's collection of data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in 2010, according to a published media report.

Although the FCC has decided there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the data collection violated federal rules, the commission said Google deliberately impeded the investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The probe looked at whether Google broke rules designed to prevent electronic eavesdropping when its Street View service collected and stored the data from the Wi-Fi networks, the newspaper reported.

The FCC proposed the fine late Friday night, the Journal said.

Google may appeal the proposed fine before the commission makes it final, the Journal said. The company has said that it inadvertently collected the data and stopped doing so when it realized what was going on, the newspaper added.

Shares of Google closed Friday down $26.41 at $624.60.


FCC proposes fine for Google Wi-Fi snooping case 'obstruction' By Zack Whittaker

Summary: The U.S. FCC has proposed a $25,000 fine after Google “impeded and delayed” an investigation into collecting wireless payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $25,000 fine against Google for “deliberately impeded and delayed” an ongoing investigation into whether it breached federal laws over its street-mapping service, the Wall Street Journal reports.


The FCC initiated an investigation in 2010 after Google collected and stored payload data from unencrypted wireless networks as part of its Google Maps Street View service. Its intended use, Google says, was to build up a list of Wi-Fi network hotspots to aid geolocation services on mobile devices through ‘assisted-GPS’.

The U.S. followed suit after many European countries, including Germany, which has some of the strictest data protection and privacy laws in the world. But the European nation went one step further and told Google to withdraw its Street View cars from the country altogether.

Google also drew fire from the UK’s data protection agency after it was told it committed a “significant breach” of the UK and European data laws when it collected wireless data from home networks. It was audited by the regulator and was told it “must do more” to improve its privacy policies. Google said it had taken “reasonable steps” to further protect the data of its users and customers.

But the FCC stopped short of accusing Google of directly violating data interception and wiretapping laws, citing lack of evidence. The federal communications authority did not fine the company under eavesdropping laws, as there is no set precedent for applying the law against ‘fair-game’ unencrypted networks.

The FCC took the action after it believed Google was reluctant to co-operate with the authorities after the scandal emerged. An FCC statement added that a Google engineer thought to have written the code that collected the data invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to prevent self-incrimination.

Google can appeal the fine. Despite the fine being a mere fraction of the company’s U.S. annual turnover, not doing so until its legal avenues are exhausted would almost be an admittance of guilt.

The search giant eventually offered an opt-out mechanism for its location database by adding text to the networks’ router name. But further controversy was drawn after another Silicon Valley company offered an opt-out only solution.

Facebook also drew fire from the regulators after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission allowed the social networking giant to settle, allowing users to opt-in to its sharing privacy settings, rather than opting-out; seen as a major win for U.S. users’ privacy on the site.

 

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The best job in America is software engineer

An analysis by CareerCast declares that, without doubt, software engineers have the best jobs in America. They beat out, um, actuaries.

 

(Credit: Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

 

I am about to make quite a few of you feel slightly smug inside.

For all of you who happen to be reading this -- and who happen to be software engineers -- you have the best jobs in America.

This would not be my own verdict. For the idea of being a software engineer would turn my heart to molasses.

However, a company called CareerCast, which turns out to be yet another of the fine sites where one can find a lovable job, has no doubts that software engineer is where it's at.

I am grateful to the Huffington Post for revealing the existence of CareerCast's 2012 Jobs Rated Report. For it is full of edification.

You might wonder what criteria CareerCast used to reach its perhaps foregone conclusion. Well, Physical Demands, Work Environment, Income, Stress and Hiring Outlook were its 5 pillars.

As all you software engineers dance your highland fling, while supping on a bottle of fine 15-year-old malt, might I toss a little ice cube your way?

You see, the second best job to have in America is actuary. Which would seem to me akin to living with a large, sharp pencil inserted in both your ears and nostrils every day of your life.

Third, improbably, was human resource manager, which is surely little more than a low-grade psychiatrist who didn't manage to pass any medical exams.

Fourth was dental hygienist, the very smell of which would surely put many off.

A mere fifth was financial planner. I have never met one of those who could do more than map out entirely unrealistic projections, based on figures plucked randomly from the numbers line of their laptop keyboard.

It seems, therefore, that software engineer has little to beat -- although lurking at number 8 is online advertising manager, at 9 computer systems analyst and at 10, mathematician.

There is something preternaturally delightful about mathematicians finally being recognized in the top 10 of anything -- except least the Least Likely To Be Found Sexy list.

Even physicist appears at number 27. Yes, 8 places above parole officer.

Sadly, hair stylist is merely at position 105. So I thought I'd reach for the depths and see which jobs were deemed the worst.

Have once been one myself, I felt depressed to see garbage collector down at number 160. It was, however, still 6 places above photojournalist.

But your bottom 5, those you software engineers are supposed to most look down upon, stacks up like this: number 196 is reporter (newspaper). At number 197, oil rig worker. At number 198, enlisted military soldier. At number 199, dairy farmer.

And, finally, propping up the world of employment, we have lumberjack.

So it seems that working outdoors doesn't rank highly for this survey. What does is being at the forefront of finding as many different ways possible for people to share their bikini shots.

by Chris Matyszczyk

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The state as market

THE more I study the Indian and Chinese growth models, the more I realise that the current debate over the state versus the market is a false dichotomy.

Both the state and the market are social institutions that are not independent of each other. Indeed, they are inseparable, interactive and interdependent.

Human development or evolution is a complex interaction or feedback between the two. In Small is beautiful author EF Schumacher's view, “Maybe what we really need is not either-or but the-one-and-the-other-at-the-same-time”.

India and China could not have become global powerhouses of growth, without the leading role of the state in planning for development. But those states that have worked with markets have succeeded better than those that worked against markets.

London Business School Prof John Kay defines the market as a relatively transparent, self-organised, incentive-matching mechanism for the exchange of goods and services, usually in monetary terms.

In plain language, the market helps to match willing buyer, willing seller under certain rules of the game to determine market price. The market clears when it functions properly, but market failure happens when the market is imbalanced.

Kay reminds us that capitalism is less about ownership than “its competitive advantages its systems of organisation, its reputation with suppliers and customers, its capacity for innovation”.

Because of globalisation and technological change, we are living in a situation of change within change, as if the national state is not in total control of our destinies. Because of the global economy, state policies such as monetary, exchange rate and trade, cannot be independent of what is happening globally.

No man, no company, no state is an island. Globalisation has changed the rules of the game irreversibly.
Why is the state so much bigger and more powerful than before?

In the 19th century, most governments were not larger than 15% of GDP. By 1960, the size of governments in OECD countries had doubled to 30% of GDP. Today, the average has increased further to 40% of GDP.

The state has grown because there has been demand for more and more state services, but there is also concern that bureaucracies tend to grow to perpetuate itself.

I find it useful to think about the state as a market-like institution for exchange of power (in non-monetary terms). Power comes from social delegation the people give the power to the state to protect them and to fairly enforce social rules and laws. Hence, the “state as market” has the same dilemmas as the market information asymmetry and the principal-agent problem.

In large countries like India and China, there are many levels of government central, provincial, city, town, village and rural governments, each with their own departments and even enterprises. Most citizens find it difficult and confusing to deal with complex bureaucratic power. The Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto was one of the first to point out that rural poverty exists, because the poor's property rights are not protected adequately and their transaction costs are extremely high because of complex government.

In other words, markets are efficient and stable when the state is efficient and stable. It is not surprising from recent experience that financial crises are results of governance failures. As the European debt crisis amply demonstrates, financial markets cannot clear when the fiscal condition of the state is on shaky grounds, and there is no mechanism to make fast, simple, clear decisions.

Finding the right balance between state and market is the real challenge in all economies today. As 20th century British philosopher Bertrand Russell reminded us, “people do not always remember that politics, economics and social organisation generally belong in the realm of means, not ends”.

Today's demands on the state to provide stability, growth and social equity are complex, because recent dominance of free market ideology has ended up with serious problems of wealth and income disparities and environmental degradation.

Realising that large states with geopolitically significant human and ecological footprints cannot consume like the United States or Europe on a per capita basis, China and India are embarking on ambitious 12th five-year plans to change their growth models to become more environmentally sustainable economies with greater social inclusiveness.

But large economies with many layers of government struggle between centralisation and decentralisation of people, resources and power.

For systems to be stable and sustainable, they have to be adaptable to complex forces of change from internal and external shocks.

To maintain integrity, there are complex trade-offs between winners and losers in each society. Such rules and bargains are difficult when the causes and effects of losses are unclear (such as crisis) and when vested interests resist change for fear of losing what they have. Vested interests are often unwilling to change because they value present gains far more than uncertain futures. Politics is the compromise of contending interests.

The belief that markets are always right assumes that markets always balance. The market cannot balance when the state cannot balance the contending interests. The main reason for the advanced country debt crisis is because their consumption has happened today by postponing the costs to future generations.

This raises a fundamental problem. Whichever way you term it, central bank quantitative easing is ultimately state intervention.

The rise in Spanish bond yields, despite ECB long-term refinancing operations, suggest that the markets are saying there are limits to the growing euro public debt.

At the same time, global financial markets are watching carefully whether inflation in China and India will rekindle global inflation.

In other words, the anchor of global financial stability rests on state debt stability. The state cannot escape being priced by the market.

  THINK ASIANBy ANDREW SHENG - Andrew Sheng is president of the Fung Global Institute.

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Jimmy Choo honoured with Chinese award in arts and culture

BEIJING: Datuk Jimmy Choo has been honoured as one of the most influential Chinese personalities in the field of arts and culture.

The internationally-renowned Malaysian shoe designer had become the first Malaysian to receive the “You Bring Charm to the World World's Most Influential Chinese Award” from Phoenix Television in China under the arts and culture category at Peking University two weeks ago.

The award under the same category was also given to Hong Kong actress Deanie Ip, who won 15 best actress awards worldwide.

As a Chinese of Hakka descent, Datuk Jimmy Choo was very moved and honoured to be given the award.

“When I first started designing my own shoes, no one would buy them even though the price was only £50 (RM246),” said Choo.

“But today, Jimmy Choo has become a household name and I am proud that I am able to bring honour to the Chinese community because of my name.”

Last year, Choo had also won the prestigious “The World's Outstanding Chinese Designer 2011” Design for Asia award.

When asked whether his designs are influenced by Western or Eastern culture, Choo said he used a mix of both cultures and traditions in his shoe designs because he always remembered his Chinese roots.

He added that he was proud of his Chinese name Choo Yeang Keat (pronounced “Zhou Yang Jie” in Mandarin) and urged Chinese people to believe in themselves.

“Everything in the world is the same there is no East or West.

“The most important thing is that your design is elegant, beautiful and comfortable, and you will be successful,” said Choo.

Other notable ethnic Chinese personalities who had won the “You Bring Charm to the World Award” this year include New York Knicks rising basketball star Jeremy Lin and Chinese scientists Zhenyi and Chen Zhu for their research work in cancer treatment.

By LIM WEY WEN  wwen@thestar.com.my

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Living life by finding fulfilment without landing in debt

ARE you driven by a desire for instant gratification? Today, it has become a norm to splash the cash on ourselves, and it seems to be getting harder to keep in check the urge to spend and spend.

Unfortunately, current gain may mean future pain unless we are in control of our expenses. The good news is that it is possible to stay in charge if we know how to change our behaviour and what tools we need to do the job.



Falling prey

When the latest gadget or fad is in town, our lives seem to turn unbearably dull until we go out and get a piece of the action for ourselves.

We see others enjoying their iPads or Galaxy Note, and feel so left behind because we don't have one ourselves. A few months ago, we had barely spared a thought on it, but for some strange reason, it suddenly feels like we just cannot function without having one. So, before we can check ourselves, we've gone and bought one too, although we may not really know what we want to use it for, except endlessly checking our Facebook accounts.

That is just one among the many temptations around us that are competing for our hard-earned money. Media messages of dream getaways fuel our desire to go to enchanting overseas locations, and we can't wait to blow a small fortune on a holiday it has to be next month or we could almost burst.

Advertisements sell us the idea that we deserve to live a privileged existence, no matter what our station in life. We indulge in fine dining at the drop of a hat. When the stress of our jobs gets to us, shopping comes to the rescue in the name of retail therapy.

No wonder we find that there's a big hole in our pockets. For those of us who have become used to living life large, it may seem strange that not long ago, that was far from the norm. Just one generation earlier, it was quite usual for people to save patiently towards their financial goals, i.e. to delay gratification until they had the money to spend.

Before and now

If they wanted to buy a car, our folks would not simply look for the latest model, but consider what was on the second-hand market. They would save towards a bigger downpayment, to reduce the interest they have to pay on the hire-purchase loan.

The first step was to save, not seek enjoyment. They kept money aside for education and important financial goals. The habit of accumulating savings was strongly ingrained in them. Sadly, that is virtually non-existent now. If you found yourself in a deep level of debt, this is a habit you have to re-learn in order to regain control of your finances.

For sound money management, delayed gratification is a key behaviour to adopt, while instant gratification can set us on the road to serious financial problems. Worse yet is “advance gratification”, when we spend money before we have earned it. Seeking instant enjoyment is not as bad. It just means that we cannot keep cash and spend it as soon as we have it in our hands.

Today, with the massive use of credit cards to pay for high lifestyles, we are in danger of being buried under consumer debt. This is a growing problem which is being seen particularly among the young.

In the past, a person who had no savings was seen as someone with poor money management skills. Now, it is quite common for people in their 20s and 30s to already be in debt to the tune of RM30,000 to RM50,000. Addressing this problem requires a change in mindsets.

Not so long ago, a person entering the job market would use the bus or get a second-hand motorcycle for about RM2,000 to RM3,000. Purchasing a car would be delayed until after about five years of work. Even then, it would probably be a used car costing between RM10,000 and RM12,000.

Today, many young people expect to drive a car before they work, usually looking to their parents for financing. For better money management, this expectation should be replaced by the habit of delayed gratification. If the young learn to save towards the car they want to drive, they can avoid building up a heavy burden of debt. Taking the LRT or commuter train can be among the options.

Growing materialism

The easy availability of consumer credit can contribute to debt accumulation becoming a larger problem for the economy, as is seen in debt-driven societies like the United States and some European countries. The Malaysian authorities can avoid the mistakes of those countries by taking further action to tighten lending rules.

Personal debt management problems are closely related to another trend in society today growing materialism. The idea that happiness depends on the number of material possessions we have appears to be stronger as time goes by.

More than ever, we now need to rediscover the value of non-material interests such as watching the sunset, jungle trekking or volunteering our time in order to find happiness and fulfilment in our lives. We need to find a balance between material wealth and life-enriching experiences that are not measured in monetary terms but build our self-esteem.

For most of us, the amount of money available is limited. In fact, there is never enough for anyone. If we change the way we look at ourselves, many of the problems associated with excessive spending will be resolved.

Instead of dining out at a fancy restaurant, we can have a fulfilling meal at home with our families and enjoy the warmth of their happiness. Instead of spending on more clothes, we can save the money for a good end. Instead of splurging on an expensive holiday, we can find joy and accomplishment in playing a musical instrument.

These are values that adults can inculcate in the young that will pay dividends all their lives. Perhaps the current debt crisis is a reminder to pay attention to the lifestyle choices we unwittingly teach the young.

MONEY & YOU By YAP MING HUI -Yap Ming Hui (yapmh@whitman.com.my) is an independent financial advisor. He is the managing director of Whitman Independent Advisors

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PTPTN l student loans: stick to its guns, written off, learn to pay back ?

A promise that can be written off

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s latest plan – to abolish PTPTN study loans and provide free higher education – may seem attractive, but it just goes to show how desperate Pakatan Rakyat is politically.

BOTH Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are announcing populist measures to influence voters and get their attention as the general election, that is expected to be keenly contested, draws near.

While Barisan has numerous popular projects from the 1Malaysia clinics to Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia, Pakatan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, not to be outdone, has come up with his plan – to abolish PTPTN study loans and thereafter, provide free higher education.

He is proposing to use Petronas funds to write off the RM43bil in PTPTN loans taken since 1999 and provide free higher education for subsequent generations of students.

 Varsity cheer: Anwar’s proposal to write off outstanding PTPTN loans and provide free higher education is attractive but will he deliver on his promise should Pakatan Rakyat come to power?
 

At first hearing, his scheme is attractive, especially to the 1.9 million students who have received study loans under the PTPTN scheme up to 2011.

Who will not want their outstanding study loans written off and for future generations of students to study free using Petronas funds?

It’s simple - all the students and their parents need to do is vote and ensure that Pakatan captures Putrajaya in the general election and then wait for Anwar to deliver on his promise.

The vast majority of PTPTN loan takers have paid up or are paying their loans. About 144,000 borrowers have been blacklisted for not paying and they will have reason to rejoice with Anwar’s promise to write off the loans.

The cost of higher education has shot up since the mid-1990s and it now costs more to study and even more for the Government to subsidise higher education.

For instance, a year’s tuition for a medical course in a public university, before any subsidy, comes to RM166,000. But students only have to pay RM9,000, which means 94.6% of the fees are subsidised.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in clarifying the cost structure to reporters last week, explained that a first-year engineering course costs RM61,000 but students only pay RM6,800. He said 90% of the cost is subsidised by the Government.

Students in public and private institutions of higher learning need only pay between 5% and 10% of the cost of degrees that they are pursuing and even then, they are already subsidised in the form of PTPTN loans.
Students who take PTPTN loans pay a minimum of the course fees and take care of their living costs in the cities and major towns where they are located.

When students have completed their studies and are gainfullly employed, they start repaying their loans and many have done so.

Abolishing PTPTN loans sounds good but it is impractical because higher education is heavily subsidised, up to 90% or more, by the Government with students paying only under 10% of the course fees.

And even for that amount, they take PTPTN loans.

But because elections are near and Anwar feels pressured, he has come up with a grand scheme to write off the entire RM43bil PTPTN loans given out since 1996 and use Petronas funds to finance future generations of students for free.

Petronas is the national oil corporation and it deals with our own oil, which is beginning to deplete, and oil in other countries, which it explores, refines and markets for a percentage of the profits that it brings home.

Nearly half of Petronas’ payments to the Government — and the percentage is rising — is from dealing in oil in other countries.

Anwar should not use Petronas as a Santa Claus to promise parents free higher education for their children.

The oil corporation is footing a huge part of the national budget and it can’t be milked anymore to write off PTPTN loans and underwrite higher education.

Taxpayers, who are also subsidising higher education, should not be burdened with more taxes by a Pakatan policy of offering free higher education for all if it captures Putra-jaya.

PTPTN loans are very low-cost loans for students to pursue their dreams of getting a diploma or a degree or to arm themselves with a skill to face a challenging future at local colleges and universities.

It is reckless for Pakatan to promise that it will write off the outstanding loans and offer free higher education if elected to Putrajaya.

It is a big promise from a man whose penchant is to make ever bigger promises as the general election nears.

And he will make them in a dramatic and striking manner, which just goes to show his desperation that the political momentum is slipping away. 

Analysis By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

Learning to pay for a better future

Doing away with PTPTN loans will not only burden taxpayers but also deprive many of a higher education.

THERE was much joy at the latest family gathering as my brother’s eldest son joined the ranks of medical doctors in the family – he graduated a month ago and is the sixth in the extended family to put the MBBS to the back of his name.

In a few more months, two more of his cousins will also be graduating as doctors from the same private medical college.

The total cost of educating the three of them is more than RM1mil.

The elder one managed by taking loans from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation or better known as PTPTN. Without such a loan, I doubt whether my nephew could have pursued his ambition to be a doctor.

PTPTN has disbursed loans to 1.95 million students, totalling RM43.60bil, from 1997 to February this year.

Now it seems some people want to can this and want the Government to provide total free education from “cradle to grave” – as stated by Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) chairman Muhammad Safwan Anang.

SMM is a pro-opposition student movement.

His call was supported by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who again pointed to Petronas’ oil revenues as a means to pay for the higher education needs of all Malaysians.

This is obviously just a populist move meant to please a certain quarter – mostly the more than 100,000 defaulters of whom about 70,000 have not even paid up a single sen since completing their studies some 14 years ago.

Who would not like to have their loans cancelled? The almost two million borrowers are a very big electorate for any political party to woo.

For the record, PTPTN loans recovery has not been very good. Over the past 14 years, a total of RM5.6bil was to have been collected in loan repayments, but only RM2.7bil had been received.

The corporation has tried all means to get back its money including the rather unpopular blacklisting at all exit points that prevents defaulters from leaving the country.

This is what is unpopular with PTPTN.

Previously, the corporation was criticised for not making a serious attempt at ensuring loan repayments, but when it makes an effort to do so it is accused of being a bully.

Learning to pay for your own needs and wants, including debts, is as important as a formal education. This is called a lesson in responsibility. Cancelling the study loan is like an uncompleted course.

Despite the contentious blacklisting move, the PTPTN loan is the single largest enabler of education in this country. Without this loan scheme more than half of the some two million borrowers would not have been able to further their education.

I know of several students who only made it to a tertiary institution because they were able to get a loan.
An uncle of one of them said he was willing to provide support in terms of pocket money and even accommodation.

“Unless he makes it into a public university, tertiary education will be beyond us,” the uncle said. The nephew is already grateful because he knows his future is assured either way.

He is not alone.

A good friend, who lives and works in Hong Kong, is very proud of his daughter’s independence because of the PTPTN scheme.

“I do not have the money to send her overseas for a higher education and she couldn’t get into a public institution. But she managed to get a PTPTN loan, and with that she could study in a local private college.

“She did everything herself, and was even able to save some money to buy herself a car. She made sure she passed all her exams and is now working. She is also paying back the loan on her own,” this friend said, adding that he never expected her to be so independent.

When the Government first liberalised the education system in the early 1990s, the number of those aged below 24 who received tertiary education was less than 15% but this has risen to 45% currently and should reach 50% by 2020 – and all this is due directly to the PTPTN scheme.

PTPTN can also be credited with the growth of the number of higher education institutions in the country. As of October, there were 20 public universities, 26 private universities, 23 private university colleges, several branch campuses of foreign universities, 28 polytechnics, 74 community colleges and 434 private colleges.

Providing free higher education, ironically, will result in many of these institutions being beyond the reach of the middle class and the poor because they will have to go to Government funded colleges.

For a simple three-year business related degree from a local private university, the tuition fee will be between RM30,000 and RM40,000. A local medical degree will cost more than RM300,000.

Without a doubt many of these private colleges are decent institutions of higher education, and a viable alternative to the expensive foreign education that most Malaysians dream of.

Just like everyone cannot be a doctor or a prime minister, not everyone can afford a foreign education.
These almost-500 private institutions provide a channel for our young to pursue their education dreams.

PTPTN makes this possible.

Why Not? By WONG SAI WAN

> Executive editor Wong Sai Wan is glad he can afford to pay for his children’s education but realises many need financial help to educate theirs

PTPTN should stick to its guns

QUESTION TIME By P.GUNASEGARAM

The most efficient way to educate those who can’t afford it is through loans as it ensures that future generations will similarly benefit.

IT’S a bad part of human nature that the more you get the more you want, especially when you get something relatively easily.

And since according to common wisdom elections are supposedly around the corner, now’s the time to demand and hope that the Government will accede simply to please in the hope of getting more votes.

But there is a need to be more responsible than that. If goodies are handed out every time they are demanded, we are going to have problems, real problems.

We should not be going anywhere near forgiving other people’s debts as an election manoeuvre but that’s exactly what is being asked for.

There are many hundreds of thousands of people who have taken loans from the National Higher Education Fund (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional or PTPTN) but now incredibly they want their loans to be waived – just like that. I wish my housing loan was waived too.

Not only should their requests be flatly turned down, the Government should review its entire system of scholarships on which it spends tens of billions of ringgit yearly in favour of a system of loans.

The PTPTN loans require repayment only after those who have taken them get jobs or six months after graduation whichever comes first and is to be paid through the Inland Revenue Department. They carry low rates.

We are talking about really big amounts – as at end of February, 1.9 million students had loans totalling RM43.6bil from the PTPTN. That’s a huge amount to be written off and the Government simply cannot afford to do so.

Based on the figures, the average loan per borrower works out to around RM22,000 and it should be possible for PTPTN to work out some arrangement with the borrower if it is not possible to repay the loan within the prescribed period due to unemployment or other reasons.

Eventually, most graduates do get employed and when they get jobs, they will stand to earn a lot more than non-graduates and they should be made to repay society for the help they received in getting a leg up.

Many others were unfortunate enough not to get a proper education because they could not afford to pay the fees or take time off from work to study. They often never earn graduate salaries in their entire lifetimes.

The attitude of borrowers who have taken money from PTPTN and now do not want to repay is selfish because they deprive other similarly disadvantaged students from financial assistance in the future.

The PTPTN was conceived as a fund that will be largely self-financing from repayments and that’s the way it should be operated so that the most number of people benefit from it.

Most of the loans are taken by borrowers in public universities to cover the cost of living as fees are already low in these universities. The timely repayment of such loans ensures that future students will continue to benefit from the programme.

The politicisation of this issue is terribly unfortunate not only because it puts pressure on a scheme, which if properly administered, will result in the emergence of a sustainable operation largely funded by repayments but because it inhibits consideration of loan schemes to replace scholarships.

The scheme can be made more attractive by making repayments completely interest-free and free of any maintenance fees as is the case in countries such as Australia for their own citizens.

The Government can then expand this scheme so that all qualified students are eligible for loans and even extend the scheme to those who want to study overseas.

Then it can reduce the amount of scholarships allocated and restrict these largely to a select list of merit scholarships and to fund those it wants to employ in future.

That way the Government will be able to help more people get access to higher studies without having to break its financial back by providing outright scholarships and grants.

However, that would require some courage because the rolling back of scholarships which were relatively freely made available earlier would meet with a considerable amount of opposition from all quarters.

You can sometimes give too much but try and take that away and you can get a lot of problems.

Governments all over the world are moving towards interest-free loans to help needy students. It’s the right way to go because only those serious about their education would take such loans and they will tend to limit their loans to what they need because it has to be repaid.

That’s a good way to allocate scarce resources by making people who can’t afford it take interest-free loans and defer payments until later. Instead, those who have taken loans are demanding they be turned into scholarships instead. That’s really too much.

Acceding to such demands would be populist, what move would not be when you give something valuable away for free, but it would be wrong simply because it is going to deprive future generations from access to education.

Resources are finite after all and we must find the best way to allocate them. Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind.

> Independent consultant and writer P. Gunasegaram believes that both lender and borrower have a joint responsibility to ensure that funds are properly used.