Dirty data behind PTPTN's mountain of debt

As politicians butt heads over a possibility of providing free tertiary preparation in Malaysia, a towering of debt due to a National Higher Education Loan Fund (PTPTN) is unlikely to be recovered soon.

Sources tighten to a group claim which this is because most of a RM45.41 billion loans approved as during August 31, 2012, were given out to students whom PTPTN can no longer trace.

Electronic interpretation sitting in a 10-year-old Education Loan Management System (Elmas), sources claim, sojourn severely outdated, withdrawal PTPTN little hopes of retrieving a delinquent debt.

As during August 31, 2012, RM7.83 billion disbursed to 1.14 million students was still uncollected, with a amends rate station during 49 percent.

This was notwithstanding a removal of Finance Ministry auxiliary Prokhas Sdn Bhd in 2010, following a 2009 Auditor-General's Report, for failing to develop a loan liberation complement after being paid RM1.5 million.

Prokhas' shambolic complement drove PTPTN to fall behind upon Elmas, an earlier complement it had already motionless was not good sufficient in 2006.

And for this, PTPTN had to pay Elmas developer, Paradigm Systems Sdn Bhd, another RM26 million to re-do a job - a cost PTPTN chief senior manager officer Agos Cholan is reluctant to confirm, citing sensitivity.

It is accepted which a justification for a large fee is which Paradigm will not only be regulating a obsolete Prokhas system, though it was also be office o! ffice bu ilding a brand brand new system, based upon a previous Elmas, as well as to provide a necessary hardware.

"It is not just one, though a integrate of projects together... The number of loans which PTPTN is dealing with given 1997 is some-more than what any bank is handling," pronounced a source in a know.

Agos (left) confirms which a Elmas complement is being "modified" to improve a system, albeit "running upon an old engine".

"We used to go upon servers, though right away all is web-based," he said, observant which Paradigm is a creditable mechanism programme developer.

Agos pronounced which a most urgent partial - migrating old interpretation to a brand brand new complement - was done, with "three or 4 modules" yet to be completed.

"But which doesn't meant we can't work, we can," he stressed.
However, industry players claim which instead of office office building a customised system, PTPTN should instead buy an existent complement used by banks for underneath RM10 million as well as tweak it to fit a requirements.

Disaster waiting to happen

The PTPTN towering of bad debt, according to parliamentary records, appears to be a mess waiting to happen.

PTPTN began operations in 1997 with no electronic loan management system, gripping a records "manually" during first, prior to perplexing out multiform opposite mechanism ! systems u! ntil 2003.

Paradigm Systems won! a propo sal to develop Elmas in 2003, though 3 years later, due to problems with a brand brand new system, PTPTN was already visiting banks to find out how a financial institutions conduct their loans.

According to a website, Paradigm is a knowledge management solutions provider including living room cataloguing systems.

So intent was PTPTN to replace Elmas which they had called for proposal for yet another system, as well as issued a minute of intent to a selected company, a Public Accounts Committee record minutes reveal.

But this was thwarted when Finance Ministry's Prokhas at once stepped in. However, a solution was apparently most worse.

Records show which Prokhas blamed interpretation firmness for a failure, saying which PTPTN had not "scrubbed" a interpretation so it would be "clean" sufficient to migrate to a brand brand new system.

Insiders say this complaint still persists though Agos, a former banker, pronounced which compared to a "messed-up" Prokhas system, Paradigm's Elmas is doing "much better".

"People can right away go to a Internet as well as get their amends outstanding. It took PTPTN a integrate of years to reconstruct this.

"Before there was RM5 billion of loans which were questionable. At a single time, we didn't know who took out loans or who has paid. The numbers weren't there... though it has all been rectified," he said.

While he declined to divulge if a interpretation has been scrubbed clean, Agos pronounced which a brand brand new system, which is right away 50 to 60 percent finish as well as will be all set by 2013.

It is accepted which a Paradigm stipulate with PTPTN includes transfer of skills from a businessman to a agency, with PTPTN expected to be able to work as well as maintain a complement upon completion.

However, PTPTN has a prerogat! ive to ex! tend a stipulate with Paradigm upon upkeep as well as upgrade.

"There are weaknesses still, though we hold which by 2014, it will include brand brand new things which will take us to a opposite level," Agos said.

Paradigm is incompetent to criticism upon a matter due to a non-disclosure agreement with PTPTN.

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