RIFLE RANGE BOY

Malu apa bossku? Apparently, all the things I may have learnt from childhood may be wrong after all. Sometimes, I wonder whether I thought the wrong thing or may have been hoodwinked to believe obviously wrong things. Perhaps values changed while we were napping. I always assumed that when one loses any of his properties via public auction, he is said to have lost not only his wealth but also his dignity. The mark of a true man is his ability to acquire wealth and provide for his dependents; his inability to retain his finances is a colossal failure. At a time when pride was everything, abscondment and suicide were standard outlets. My legal eagle friends remain nonchalant about their clients or opponents declaring themselves bankrupt or their properties auctioned off. To them, that is a cost of doing business. Overlooking the inconveniences of bankruptcy, it remains a legitimate 'get out of jail' sort of card. Nothing Earth-shattering, they say, and definitely no shame. ...

Man On The Run ( Documentary, Netflix;  2023) Director:   Cassius Michael Kim We all know the drill. We have heard it all before. The Government started a novel project selling government bonds to buy oil fields in Central Asia. With the returns, the Government, via its subsidiary, 1MDB, would pour money into the country, which would help improve the living conditions of its citizens. The trouble was that the same who applied for the money from the Government approved the loan, executed the loan, received the loan and received the returns were all the same person. Najib Razak is the 1MDB Chairman, Minister of Finance and the honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia. And there were no oilfields that were bought. Still, the whole exercise saw many people making loads of money, enjoying obscenely decadent parties, and the Malaysian taxpayers paying exorbitant amounts of money as interest to international players. Even though the local journalists kept crying foul and were brave to p...

The Kingmaker (2019) Director: Lauren Greenfield An eerie resemblance exists between the Marcuses' story and that of Najib Razak's. Ferdinand Marcos was democratically elected as the President of the Philippines in 1965. The beginning of his tenure saw massive development and prosperity aided by foreign funds. By his second term, the economy was in the doldrums, prompting citizen uprising. In 1972, martial law was introduced. The opposition and media were silenced. True, in the early stage, progress was apparent, and everyone was happy. Slowly, sycophants and rent-seekers moved in. The Marcoses soon became megalomaniacs. Beyond their collection of handbags, shoes and paintings, the symbol of their opulence is the Safari Park in Calauit Island. Imelda Marcus had had exotic animals uprooted from their natural habitats in Kenya to create a wildlife sanctuary in their own backyard. To make place for these wild animals from the other side of the world, the Government had to displace...

Billion Dollar Whale (2018) Authors: Tom Wright & Bradley Hope The world has all the resources to feed Man but not his greed. Going through the book, it is evident that the world only caters for the high-heeled.  Try borrowing a couple hundreds of bucks from a banking institution or transfer some money. The paperwork and the confusing legalese jargon that one has to go through would make the borrower feel like a criminal. All these formalities remain so, formalities, when it comes to the megarich. Rules are purposely made to rein and ruin the poor.  Money flows seamlessly from the rich to the rich, across borders and without sureties. Compliance procedures are ignored. Standard practices take a back seat. The hidden forces from unknown places show their presence. The rest of the public, being oblivious or choosing to stay ignorant just join the gravy train. The whole establishment seems aware of everybody's misconduct around the world. Adequate ...