We celebrated Tok's 71th Birthday at TGI Friday on Tuesday. I ate parmesan chicken and mac n cheese while everybody ordered smothered steak. I secretly wanted the steak but was doubtful on whether or not the steak is you know, halal.
On our way back to tok's house, uncle Bal got all pumped up about a new MLM he joined for a month. He was making more than 10 thousand a month and was enthusiastic about his future in the MLM company. He'd already envisioned a BMW 5 series and every other perks that will come crashing as his MLM pyramid gets wider enrolment.
"Cube bayangkan Afiq, boleh pegi Hartamas beli LV, Gucci, Zara. Tengok jek tali pinggang Gucci seribu lima, I'll take it."
Uncle Bal's infectious enthusiasm infected Arine, my cousin as he listened to Uncle Bal's testimonies of how he'd met students well on their twenties driving BMWs and Mercedes. Arine's stuttering got worst and in the midst of their heated optimism, I began to think. "Ok jugak sebulan sepuluh ribu buat dekkkkk je."
But then again, it's a MLM. Naturally, I have to 'convert' 6 potential friends to start my very own pyramid and once the pyramid is structured, the management fiesta will begin, all for the persuit of miraculous cash in the bank. For people who are oblivious to the MLM culture, people who joined MLMs in the preliminary stage must basically exude confidence and wealth so more people will join in and sell a new product. So the earlier you join, the more money you'll get because the entrance fees that sustains the MLM will be distributed systematically in accordance to the pyramid scheme.
All is well eh? Well we malays and our insatiable longing to get rich by doing close to nothing... Well maybe not nothing la. But I'm old enough to know that MONEY is an everchanging value of wealth and in several occasion, useless.
Cars, clothes and expensive branded things are liabilities simply because their value fades like the passing of time.
Land can either be an asset or a liability.
The only type of wealth that is sustainable is KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge not only generate wealth but occupies our thoughts with the beauty of its intricacies. The beauty of knowledge is the manifestation of skills and talent, a killer combination that demands not only the attention of the world but wealth quarried by it.
Chinese businessmen for example monopolized trades that requires technical skills like car repairing, computers, phones etc. They can cheat you all they want because both you and they know that no one else has the expertise to repair your car/com/phone.
Indian businessmen have barbwired connections with trusted suppliers and is equipped with complex know-hows of managing and sustaining their trade. That's why their businesses can last for decades or even centuries.
We seriously have to eliminate the Cepat Kaya trend.
Ingat!
Cepat kaya, cepat jugaklah miskin.
7 comments:
not to sound very legal-ish, but mlm/pyramid scheme is totally illegal.so,any remedy will not be granted by the court.
It's more a mentality than anything else.
I don't think there's anything wrong with MLMs, you'll get the effort you put in, but as long as people realise that that's okay.
Agree with you Afiq.
MLM doesnt really promote Malay community to really run a business (like product selling, marketing, operation management or other technical skills) . Instead emphasizing in extending you downline numbers instead of promoting and selling the product itself. Using other stuff like LV, Gucci, BMW, S Class to attract poeple to join is more like selling the potential lifestyle
'Bukan Senang Nak Senang
Bukan Susah Nak Susah'
A little off topic, but my stomach turns at extravagant lifestyles. I once had the misfortune of watching E!, and they were doing a financial assessment of celebrities' weddings. It's incredible how one wedding can feed maybe a small population for an entire year.
But just so I'm clear, I don't think it's wrong, being rich. It's a matter of what you do with the money.
the malays- 'jual and cari network'
the chinese- ' guna and cari network'
see the differences.
MLMs are legal lah!
MLM is a cheap management method that requires the least sense of accountability. The founder of these MLMs are basically using people who wants to lead extravagant lifestyles.
Sure they'll get their BMWs etc but they have no control over their own financial outcome and will not enjoy any other benefits like insurance, KWSP etc. And they'll learn nothing remotely useful for their unknown future.
Lubs, well, you know how extravagant marriages will eventually turn out: extravagant divorces and custody battles.
MLM and pyramid scheme are two different things. The latter is the one with the stupid and cheating concept.
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