The case of the widow who received $1 million and spent it in a year is no secret to Malaysians. My brother’s father-in-law launched a tirade against this 34 year old widow, saying, “Kashta pattu sambaricha panam na athode arumai teriyum.. Freeya vanthe kaasu le, atha arumai terle.. Ithuleh Genting ku vacation vereh. Nambe aalungeleh thiruthe ve mudiyathu.” He also added that we should quit calling the Chinese sadaiyan and learn financial management from them. I find the man’s statement unassailable. Every word is wise.
My opinion on this case:
[c5ab_box type=”alert-warning”] Okay the lady got S$1 million which accounts for RM 2.57 million bucks and she claimed she spent it all in one year by giving it away to relatives, lost some of it to bad business and SPENT A PORTION OF IT IN GENTING HIGHLANDS. I strongly feel that she had gambled a significant chunk of the money away in Genting Highlands’ casinos as well as staying in expensive suites there and kena bill nicely to the bottom of her coffers. Note that she had RM 50,000 debt at the time of her husband’s passing and as soon as she got the money, she quit her job and flew to Genting with her durian runtuh. Of all holiday destinations, why did she choose Genting? There’s something very fishy about her choice of holiday destination which is a gambling heaven. Gambling is like quicksand; once you lose your money, you’d gamble more just to get back the money. If you win, you’d want to win more and in the end, you would end losing more money only if not all your money and I believe this is what happened to this 34 year old widow with 4 kids.
Also, her description on how she spent her money doesn’t tally with the sheer amount of money she had. We’re talking RM 200,000,000 ++ here – she said she finished RM 400,000 in just 5 months for milk and diapers for her baby. Do milk powder and Pampers bear the price tag of gold? Plus,she was only mentioning RM 800,000, RM 400,000, given to relatives. It’s 200,000,000 bucks ++, gone in a year. No matter what, 2.57 million is not easy to spend even if you spend everyday for the past to two years unless you gamble it. Remember the movie Arunachalam? Rajini resorted to gambling to finish up his money. There is no easier way to whittle money away than gambling. Remember the dice game in Mahabaratha? Gambling is addictive and a vicious cycle.
Her brother told NST that Pusparani doesn’t gamble but he might be lying through his teeth to gain pity from the people and have them donate money to his millionaire turned indigent sister and maybe even hoping for a second free ride. One cannot simply finish up 2.57 million bucks per year just by losing it to relatives and bad business. This is not a Sivaji the Boss movie. One year, 2.57 million bucks, no assets, only S$ 50 left in the bank, you do the math. There are many cases in the US where jackpot winners lose the money they won in a very short time by gambling more. This lady didn’t win a lottery but she did get a huge chunk of money with zero effort.
Some may argue that she’s a lady. Inthe kaalathuleh ithellam oru matter ah? She went to Genting – that is a strong hint and proof. Still some say she’s a mother of 4 kids so she won’t spend unnecessarily since she has kids to take care. She is most probably cheated by her relatives or someone had encouraged her to gamble the money like the lorry company idea one may defend. Well, if that is so, where has her common sense gone to? She’s 34, surely she can think for herself and act accordingly with sense, with her kids’ future being foremost in her mind.
The money would not have been given to her in cash form. It would have come through a bank and some of the money was SAVED FOR HER KIDS EDUCATION BY THE CHANGI AIRPORT MANAGEMENT, telling her strictly that the money is for her children’s future but atheleyum kayyi vechitangge. Surely the bank had advised her on how to manage the money but i bet she didn’t take the advice. Don’t tell me she doesn’t know how to open a deposit account or invest in 1 Malaysia bonds or CIMB premium savings. My Malay and English illiterate mother managed to invest money by being a mere factory worker, saving money up, even buying a house, so what’s this lady’s excuse?
RM 2.57 million is a whole lot of money for most of us. Working for a lifetime would not give us that much money and to think that she can say so casually that she had spent it all in a year evokes high dudgeon in me to say the least. This lady isn’t prudent at all and she is going for a second round to gain sympathy and money. Beri betis nak paha case, more or less. With RM 2.57 million,can sponsor 2130 students for undergraduate programs. If you give per head RM26,000 for public uni, PTPTN loan beres kawan. That much can be done with such an amount of money. Ivengge kathey nambura maariya irukku? I have seen a lot of Indian single mothers, including mine, with no or minimal remuneration from husband, illiterate but managed to make all their kids degree and Masters holders. Priorities matter and Madam Pusparani got her priorities all wrong.
Thoora noku sinthanai illeh and its symptomatic of gamblers. One of my relative is a habitual nombor ekor taker and if he finds out that any of his siblings have money in bank or in any form, he’ll ask money from them and gamble it away. He has 4 kids and he never cared about their education. His wife complements him – their gambling habit is incorrigible. Menang loteri bukan banyak, mereka ketagih.
My previous Indian next door neighbour were gamblers too and they always ask debts from my mom. One reason they gave when asking money from my mom was to celebrate Deepavali grandly. My mom refused to give them and they went around our neighbourhood, telling other Indians who live there that my mom is a stingy, vile woman. Aama, keatone kudutherunum, kaasu enna marathuleh va kaaikuthu engge ammaku? If they asked money from my mom to buy workbooks for their kids, my mom would give but never for vetti bandha – they too, neglected their kids’ education which resembles the case of Pusparani.
My bro’s in-laws own a transport business and their Indian workers always complain that they are poor and don’t have enough money. Their workers say, “You people are rich, we are poor.” Their poss pinned the story of Madam Pusparani on their notice board and every time their Indian employees ask for early pay or money, they’d show this lady’s case as an example of financial mismanagement which is no one’s fault but their own. Can go for Kochadaiyan movie but cannot pay house loan. All of it boils down to substandard financial management. [/c5ab_box]
Now for the other side of the story which the widow recounted. It seems the widow’s relatives swarmed her after learning that a windfall has found her and all of them wanted a share of the INSURANCE PAYOUTS and PUBLIC DONATIONS meant for the lady to rebuild her life and secure her fatherless children’s lives. Asingama illeh? The money was some sort of ex gratia and some shameless Indians had the nerve to ask for money from a bereaved lady who has 4 little mouths to feed. Anthe pannethe poyi kekkuringgele.. Ithukku picchei edukalam. And her brothers systematically cheated her.
Madam Pusparani was naive – classic case of illeche vaayi who wouldn’t turn down her relatives who are money sucking leeches. She should have thought where were her relatives and brothers when she was struggling to make ends meet. They were absent all the while when she needed them and now that she has money every relative who snubbed her is now being nice with a hidden agenda which this poor lady failed to see through.
Pusparani was also careless in financial management – perhaps she was overwhelmed by the sheer big amount of the money, she thought it wouldn’t run out. Numbers are indeed infinite but money is finite. She should have just put the money in CIMB bank … Interest itself would accumulate to $ 100,000 per year – she can even bank in the interest and live the life of a queen. So what if her brothers or relatives stop talking to her if she didn’t give what they wanted? Where were they when she was facing difficulty? If they are warranted to be selfish and put themselves first before others, she is more than entitled to be selfish and meet her kids and her needs first. The money was her HUSBAND’S INSURANCE PAYOUTS and PUBLIC DONATIONS which are meant to benefit the young widowed mother and her kids. Enthe Suppanukkum Kuppanukkum kudukeh illeh.
She should have hired a financial adviser to steer her financial management in the benefiting way. Like I mentioned in my opinion, the money definitely went to her via a bank and surely the bank advised her on how to manage such a large amount of money but I think she didn’t take it, trusting her financial instincts or others who share propinquity with her. I give her the benefit of doubt that she doesn’t know what financial management and financial adviser are like most Indians here and rather than trusting a stranger (financial adviser) she trusted her blood, her brothers and relatives. Blood bond is blood bond but the same blood runs in different bodies and blood sometimes betrays as Madam Pusparani learnt a tad too late. Even if she went to a bank with the money the bank would advise her on how to make the most out of the money. Banking in money especially in such large amounts Pusparani had is a surefire way to multiply money effortlessly – the risk is minimal to non existent. Chumma ukkanthu saapedelam. Madam Pusparani could have taken care of her expenses using the interest alone. But, she trusted her brothers and invested in business and now is almost destitute.
Proper financial management dearth in Malaysian Indians
Many Malaysian Indians are clueless in financial management and it is one of the main reason why Indians top the bankruptcy list in Malaysia and some don’t even know what’s APKP aana Linga leh Rajiniku jodi ah yaaru nadikura nu finger tips leh vechiripangge. Talk about priorities.
Many Indians here don’t hesitate to take debts. Again, by poor financial management, many Indians fail to pay back loans and get blacklisted with hutang di keliling pinggang. My previous Indian neighbour used to take debts from my mother to celebrate Deepavali grandly. They were not exactly prompt in paying back. We’ve had Chinese and Malay neighbours and it were Indian neighbours who asked debts from us. One of them would ask for an onion, egg, spices etc from us and we’d give.. My mother instilled in me to never ask debt/money from others since I was a child. If I do ask, if there is no other way, I return the debt back ASAP. My dad gave close to RM 50,000 to his buddies as debt without any black and white documentation. He trusted his good for nothing friends and my father never saw the money he gave to the scrounges.
If anyone approaches you to ask you to be the guarantor for any bank loan they want to take, note that the bank doesn’t trust the person and so you shouldn’t too. Give your guarantee and find yourself paying the person’s mortgage or car loan when the person fails to and when you fail, you’ll be in red. You won’t be able to buy any property, vehicle or save money for yourself in the bank. All augmenting financial status activities cannot be done.
And then, there are some non touted Karnan parambarai walking among us, specifically Indian parents. Some Indian grown up children are panam pisasu; they’ll take every penny from their parents’ EPF, lifetime savings, property, etc and parents give all of it obligingly. Some relatives too, upon hearing that someone in their family has withdrawn EPF, they’ll shamelessly ask some of it, as though it’s their right to have some of the money. Easy come and easy go. Most Indians who received EPF money in lumpsum spend it within a year or less. There are many untold stories which are similar to Madam Pusparani’s harrowing story. Panam kaasu kandu putta puli kude pulle thinggum Kali Kaalam aachu adi kanmani, yen kanmani.. Naame tha ushar ah irukunum. Indians also need to learn to save money and not spend unnecessarily.
Also, write a proper will with the consultation of a legal adviser on to whom all your wealth would go immediately after withdrawing your EPF money. It will save you a lot of trouble later and your money will benefit whom you think deserve most. This would also prevent relatives to come bug you for money and you squandering the money. Putting some money in fixed deposit is another good way to accumulate money. Plus, you can’t touch the money for a certain period of time. Be wary of cepat kaya schemes as well. Only trust your money with certified and reputed financial institutions.
Indians here need to learn to say NO to relatives who vaayi koosameh come and ask for money especially your withdrawn EPF. EPF is your hard earned money. EPF’s full form is Employer Provident Fund. Provident means making or indicative of timely preparation for the future. Apdi na enna artham? It means the money is for your future. It is not meant to be given away to your children or relatives. You have to be selfish or you’ll suffer in later years. There is no way you can please everyone so just please yourself. You have to have some money in your hands in order to have anyone at all to respect you. I have seen my dad, how his own children disrespected him after he retired and got broke by abysmal financial management.
Gambling should be avoided – soothu aaduna kaasu kaiyileh thanggave thanggathu. Soothu kavvum. In Indian funeral houses rummy is played in order to stay awake and sometimes money is put up for stakes. Play chess instead. Indians invented chess and it would sharpen minds rather than emptying pockets. Don’t gamble if you want wise financial management and a stable financial status.
In many Indian families, it is indeed like this – money is everything. If money is not given upon request, it will be taken personally and the particular relative would boycott and stop talking. Of fear of being shunned by the next of kin, many Indians give money upon request, being altruistic. Sontham vittu poghe kudathu ah ma. My question is, do we need such money minded, thoughtless and inconsiderate relatives who’s impression on us is based solely on whether we’d fulfill their every whim? If you ask me, no need – we are better off without them. Learn to say no. Put aama saami to your avaricious relatives and they’d araikeran molega on your head. Let Madam Pusparani’s story be a lesson to all of us. Show your Indian maanam, rosham, soodu and soranai by not asking for money from your relatives and aged parents. Kai kaal ellam nalla thane irukku? Ithellam oru pollepa? Vethanai, avamanam, vekkam!
