No more interest free period for credit card holders who didn't make full settlement

A recent article posted by SM Mohamed Idris, president of Consumers Association of Penang on Malaysiakini website alarmed all credit card holders in Malaysia about the change in interest free period of their credit cards, which will take effect on 1 July 2008.

Currently, credit card holders in Malaysia enjoy a 20 days interest free period from the card issuer's statement date for their retail transactions, regardless they've settled their previous month balance in full, partially, minimum, or unsettled. This priviledge of interest free period will soon be changed following the introduction of a new Tiered Interest Rate Structure
on retail purchases imposed by all credit card issuers in Malaysia, so called to be in line with the "latest guidelines by Bank Negara Malaysia".

Under the new structure, the 20 days interest free period for retail transactions is applicable only for card holders who have paid the previous month balance in full on or before the payment due date. If the card holder opts to pay partial or minimum payment, finance charges for retail transactions for the following month will be calculated from the day the transactions are posted to the card account, i.e. there will be no more interest free period for credit card account with any outstanding balance.

This will affect all the Malaysian credit card holders who are not afford to fully settle their balance in due time, and will further increase their burden with even more interest imposed for every transaction made with the credit card thereafter.

Although this will force all Malaysian credit card holders to be more caucious in spending with their credit card, it will also penalize those that need to use their credit card for emergency (eg. repairing broken belongings, hospitalization, baby birth, funeral, urgent turnover need, etc...) and need to take some times to settle out that emergency spending of larger amount than usual.

I hope that the existing 20 days interest free period can be retained, at least for the good credit card pay masters who settled at least their minimum amount without failure.

Click here to read the original article by SM Mohamed Idris.

Medklinn Mobile ionizer

I purchased this Medklinn Mobile ionizer for RM299 at their Jusco counter during promotion period last year.

The unit comes with 14 days money-back guarantee and 1 year defect warranty. It operates by plugging directly into the cigarette lighter socket of the car and bend it upwards. This ionizer requires no maintenance since it does not operate with filter, and I was told that it can last for at least 6 years.

The function of this MedKlinn Mobile ionizer is to deodourize and detoxify the air in the car. It floods the car's interior with massive amounts of negative ions. Large amount of negative ions (at least 2 million ions emission per second) can effectively remove offensive odours and pollutants such as pollen, dust particles, cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes effectively, thus reducing the risk to our health.

I have tested it with durian, and it's deodourize function works very well. It is a better substitute for car fragrance that most people use in their car, because those fragrance are made out of synthetic chemicals that might be harmful to our respiratory system.

There are many other ionizers available, but might not be as effective due to much lesser amount of ions produced. Some can even be harmful to our health due to too much ozone produced.

They've sent a postcard to me, informing that they'll be exhibiting in this HOMEDEC 2008.

Boneless wiper

Have you ever heard or seen a boneless wiper? Recently I changed the ordinary wiper blades of my car to this boneless type. The cost is double to the price of ordinary rubber wiper.

These boneless wiper blades fit directly to the hook of the original wiper arm, and installation is pretty easy. The blades fit nicely and firmly to the slope of the windscreen, providing effective wiping to covered area. They operate quietly and will not lift away even when used during high speed driving. The blades form an even pressure onto the windscreen, and the rubber contact is less likely to deform over time.

The manufacturer of this kind of boneless wiper claims that they are durable, have longer lifespan than ordinary rubber wipers, and can be used for years. There are also boneless wiper with silicon blades, which cost even higher, but is even more durable.