Bearish Run of a Different Kind, We Pray Not

We’re sure turning out like a black hole.

 

 

Or a stacked line of domino tiles.

A gambler dealt with consecutive bad decks of cards.

Whatever its, the country is starting to look like it’s on a run to prove the Murphy’s Law.

 

Should be at least a wee bit cagey, right now.

Especially since 16 September is around the corner with a supposed maruah-trampled bunch going all Gung Ho to amass, and on very suspect principles.

Let not the stroke of the pendulum be already upon our bosom. 

One bad after another.

And we know full well what is at its core.

Moral corruption. Of the highest degree.

Egoistical flames and fathomless greed that could tear all asunder.

Na'uzubillah. 

Freaky, Creaky Nervy Journey

Creaking and swaying the ride whizzes

Foliage and landscape mere blurry scenes

Pelting rubbles to kids, semi naked, playing chicken

Their loud hollers mere whiff of a passing drone

Cramp cabins for the moneyed none’s

While luscious lovelies service the flusher ones

For the many meanwhile knee space is plenty

Though the leather’s worn, the nooks and cranny nasty

Oh just who is it who’s driving this train?

On weathered track unscheduled distant

At speeds between sombre and utter disdain

As worrisome passengers sing a hallow refrain

The journey’s brochure flutters, hitching an open window
Stories of days gone past, of memories rendered hollow

Nobody gives a damn, it’s an old, old fare

Burgeoning difficulty; to extract, to cajole, to care

Where does this journey ends, a whispering spread

When do we stop, a worry, the mounting dread

Is the engineer sound, does he have the creed

Why does it seem that we’re picking up speed?

Why does it seem like we’re a mare, a bleeping steed?

Cantering around like a harried, puffed up breed

Its rider aloft, in drunken fit, his conscience freed

Cheered on by a crowd, of supposed bourgeois creed

Why does it seem that its dizzying speed we’re picking?

 When the horizon, distance shrinking, is fast approaching?

Just who is driving us in this unnerving journey?

Peeving Nincompoops

“… does not involve the EPF providing loans to buyers…buyers should apply directly to the ministry…”

“…. a special purpose vehicle of the Federal Territories Foundation (SPV FT Foundation) to provide loans and the terms were being finalized …“

“…. an initial facility of RM300 million with any further loans to be granted at the discretion of the EPF investment panel..”

“…ownership of the houses shall remain with SPV FT Foundation… secured as all housing units will be charged or assigned by SPV FT Foundation to EPF with security cover of at least twice the loan amount…”

“…We understand that SPV FT Foundation will only select participants with good track records..”

“…Kuala Lumpur City Hall would buy back the houses to secure the cash flow required for the repayment of the loan in the event of non-payment…”

Ooohh… I am feeling a billion percent secured and relieved with the above “explanation” from the EPF on plans (was it RNC’s, I wonder?) to hand out, opps, to, urm, help out the unqualified to get funds to buy housing units.

See, even as I write the above sentence I am glowing with an immense sense of security.

Let’s see the points again:
EPF not giving out direct loans: We knew that. Impossible to administer and could well be illegal anyway.

An SPV is involved: okay… and provided with initial facility of RM300m : ahh… money from where? The EPF.

Definitely NOT direct there.

Ownership of homes with SPV, assigned and charged to the EPF and is secured by KL City Hall.

So, SPV gets to administer – ie. pick out who gets what, hand out the money, get the administrative fees for doing so, yada yada bla bla, but risk is borne by City Hall (Let’s not forget EPF, the INDIRECT provider of the so-called loans, shall we?)

And get this: SPV will select participants with good track records.

Hmm… Wonder how they will do this when the pool is basically from a group unqualified to take loans in the first place and as such without much of a thing called credit report.

There will be future drawdown possible with satisfactory conduct: And if not? What happens? SPV pays back the RM300 million?

Or EPF gets to sell homes of the poor (oh so cruel of the EPF, sob sob boo hoo) to gain back whatever is given out by the SPV.

Oh. Wait. No, KL City Hall will pay double for the house, isn’t it?

Is that so? If City Hall is so flushed with money, why can’t they undertake such a Murni scheme?

I forget that there is every chance that I will be helping put roofing over the poor, and the homeless.

Only thing is that I know that most of these homes are rented out at rentals way above what their poor downtrodden owners are paying in installments.

Sometimes for multiple units summore. More the pity, eh?

Let’s not forget also the alleged politicians’ list for such homes.

Charity starts at home. Let not bleeping use someone else’s home to do so, can we?

The thing that irks me the most about this scheme is that - just like everything else these days - no matter how loud we protest, the train continues.

A gravy train that is surely going dry up sooner or later.


PS: Watch out for the 10% mandatory health insurance too. Us middle class sure are getting pummeled left, right, centre, above and below with this current bunch.

Sweating Cash

I once dreamt of a swimming pool
Olympic sized, its water bluish cool
On the undulating fluidic carpet floats
Millions in cash, a mix of red, blue and purple notes

In my dream on the diving board I stood
The world around me encircled in a fish eye lens hood
Readying to dive, thinking head first or foot
Into all that wealth, a life of riches, so magnificent a loot

Scents crisps of printed value assail my every inhale
To take it all in, I could well be a whale
Around me, people unknown, unrecognized, their laughter hearty and hale
Partaking a frenzied orgy, drunk from overfilled moneyed ale

I readied myself for a plunge so blissful
Encouraging shouts and whistle, urging and egging
Even as the watery stash gave birth to more cash by the bucketful
Spilling outwards, a bulging ogre’s torso to my horrific imagining

Jump, they shouted
Take the plunge, they brayed
A worldly paradise, they hinted
Arms wide, grinning, their words honeyed

The wind rushes past my flanks as I vaulted headlong
A whiff of sadness, whisper of regret
A soul succumbed, a fate forgone
My whole world then so sudden so quiet so dead

Notes red, blue and purple embraced my arrival
Edges sharp, cutting, snipping, engulfing, encircling
There was no water, in papers I was drowning
I thrashed, I grappled, my cries more and more audible

A plunge going deeper and deeper
All around me, chattering, chirping
Passing wealth of worldly boaster
A deathly oblivion, a sickened passing

I woke up in dread
A sweaty dream more a nightmare
As a RM note, red
Flitted freely traversing the fanned air

Evil Extraordinaire

They branded him “the beast”, “animal”,“an evil lowlife”.

To this, Bernie (Bernard) Madoff, the convicted cheat said:
"I have left a legacy of shame, as some of my victims have pointed out, to my family and my grandchildren. This is something I will live in for the rest of my life. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't help you.”

Madoff was convicted of operating a Pyramid (or Ponzi, as in the equally infamous Charles Ponzi’s) Scheme whereby he paid so-called “dividend” to previous investor from the wallets of the next.

His scheme – and victims - grew as word of mouth of incredible earnings passed on.

This is definitely not a small money scheme, with “exclusivity” thrown in good measure to make it even more enticing.

The scheme ran for years at ends and nobody complained when the money flowed into their pockets.

Few cared enough to “question” the source of such fantastic dividends. Surely alarm bells should have rang somewhere.

No, it took the global financial tumble when hedge funds and banks (who carried the deposits of the ordinary folks who could only dream of fantastic dividends) took an equal fumble and lost billions in their assets’ value.

News reports on his sentencing spoke of his victims scavenging for food in dumpsters, now dependent on food stamps, losing entire savings for several generations of families, with mortgages unpaid, elderly victims unable to pay for medical coverage.

Victim robbed of savings earmarked for the care of his mentally disabled brother.

My, my. Madoff was truly the Devil Incarnate.

For his extraordinarily evil (Judge’s words) misdeeds, the former lifeguard and sprinkler installer was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

How very American. All hype, all glitzy. You could almost make a best selling movie from this.

We, too, have our fair share of schemes here with the most fantastic of promises.

You’re most welcome to believe them.

A Madoff quote struck me: “The harder I tried, the deeper a hole I dug for myself.”

He dug his own hole so deep he knew he could never get out off.

His investors, meanwhile, followed like lemmings.

Verily the evil.