Earn your money the right way: no quick buck, get paid only for honest, hard work

Get-rich quick schemes drawing the interest of those who want to make a quick buck but really, there is no substitute in getting paid for honest, hard work

AS a Penangite, I am always asked by my colleagues and friends in the Klang Valley why is it that most get-rich-quick schemes are located in the island state and the investors mostly its citizens.

I have asked that same question myself, since I’ve heard enough stories of relatives and friends who have been entangled in this web of financial crookery.

It’s not something new. It used to be called the pyramid scheme and Ponzi but, like most, it is just another scam. The new term is ‘money game’ and it’s probably called this to warn new participants that there will be winners and losers, like in any other game.

However, no one is listening because most people are merely interested in the quick returns from their investments.

There are some reasons why Penang lang (Hokkein for people) have warmed up to these quick-rich con jobs.

Penang is a predominantly Chinese state and rightly or wrongly, the appetite for risk there is higher. Some may dismiss risk as a euphemism for gambling, but the bottom line is, many of its denizens are prepared to roll the dice.

Given that there are so few police reports lodged against operators, despite the huge number of investors, indicates the readiness of these players to try their luck.

They clearly are aware of the element of risk involved when they lay their money down, but the huge returns override any rational thinking. No risk, no gain, they probably tell themselves.

Making police reports against operators also runs the risk of “investors” getting their money stuck if the accounts of the scammers are frozen.

Risk-taking is nothing new to many Penangites. This is a state with a horse-racing course and plenty of gaming outlets. Is it any surprise then that a spat is currently playing out between politicians over allegations that illegal gaming outlets are thriving there?

One politician believes the state government does not have the authority to issue gambling licences and “to single out Penang also ignores the fact that gambling is under the Federal Government’s jurisdiction. We don’t issue such licences.”

It’s bizarre because no one issues permits to illegal gaming outlets. That’s why they are called illegal.

But there are some fundamental sociological explanations to this fixation on earning extra money in the northern state.

The cost of living has gone up there ... and everywhere, too. For the urban middle class, it is a monthly struggle managing the wages – after the deductions – settling the housing and car loans, and accounting for household items such as food, petrol, utility and tuition for the children.

The cost of living in Penang may be lower than that in the Klang Valley, but it is not cheap either. Any local will tell you that the portion of char koay teow has shrunk, although the price remains the same.

But unlike the Klang Valley, where career development and opportunities are greater, the same cannot be said of the island state.

Many of us who were born and brought up in Penang, moved to Kuala Lumpur because we were aware of the shortage of employment opportunities there.

We readily sacrificed so much, moving away from our parents and friends, relinquishing the relaxed way of life and the good food for a “harder” life in the Klang Valley. We paid the price for wanting a better life.

Job advancement means better salaries, but in Penang, where employers have a smaller base, they are unable to match the kind of pay packages offered in KL.

So, an extra few hundred ringgit from such investments does make a lot of difference to the average wage earner.

It is not unusual for many in the federal capital to take a second job to ensure they can balance their finances.

I don’t think many Penangites expect to be millionaires, at least not that quickly, although JJPTR has become a household acronym since hitting the market in the last two years. As most Malaysians by now know, it stands for JJ Poor-to-Rich, the name resonating well with middle class families.

Its founder, Johnson Lee, with his squeaky clean, boyish looks, assured over 400,000 people of his 20% monthly pay-outs and even more incredibly, convinced many that billions of ringgit vanished due to a hacking job.

Then came Richway Global Venture, Change Your Life (CYL) and BTC I-system, among others. And almost like clockwork, Penang has now earned the dubious reputation of being the base for get-rich-quick schemes.

Having written this article while in Penang, I found out this issue continues to be the hottest topic in town, despite the recent crackdowns by the authorities.

My colleague Tan Sin Chow recently reported in the northern edition of The Star that “money games are on the minds of many Penangites.”

On chat groups with friends and former schoolmates, it has certainly remained very much alive.

Tan wrote: “Another friend, Robert, had a jolt when, a doctor he knew, told patients to put their money into such a scheme. A doctor!

“From the cleaners at his office to the hawkers and professionals he met, everyone, it seems, was convinced. None questioned how the high returns could come to fruition in such a short time.”

We can be sure that these get-rich-quick scheme operators will lie low for a while, but the racket will surface again, in a different form and under a different name.

There is no substitute for honest, hard work. Money doesn’t fall from the sky, after all.

BY Wong Chun Wai The Star

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

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Get-rich-quick schemes thriving in Penang: many losers in the money game!

Trap - as long as there is greed, Ponzi schemes will always re-emerge. 

CALL them pyramid, Ponzi or get-rich-quick schemes and people might shy away. But call them money games, and suddenly they are just games, is that right?

What can be so diabolical about that?

Penang lang (people) are very much into money games. That's what Ben, a Penangite who now lives in Australia, found out when he came back for a holiday three weeks ago.

Ben’s friends and relatives tried to rope him into money games. They themselves had "invested" in a few "games".

He was astounded by their obsession. It does seem as if money games are on the minds of many Penangites now.

I hear about them at the coffee shops and watering holes. And yes, many of my buddies are into them too.

You will likely be the odd one out if you are not into such schemes these days.

JJPTR is a now household acronym after almost two years in the market. It stands for JJ Poor-to-Rich and the very name resonated well with middle-class families.

Its 20% monthly payouts were always on time, until the recent hacking job.

Then came Richway Global Venture, Change Your Life (CYL) and BTC I-system, but they too are said to be in troubled waters these days.

Attempts by many journalists to contact them have been unsuccessful.

The money game list is quite long, and Penang has the dubious honour of being the home base for many.

Another friend, Robert, had a jolt when a doctor he knew told patients to put their money into such a scheme. A doctor!

From the cleaners at his office to the hawkers and professionals he met, everyone, it seems, was convinced. None questioned how the high returns could come to fruition in such a short time.

But Robert is a harsh critic of these games and would not go anywhere near them. He didn't believe in their economic "principles".

He even got into a big fight with his father, who put money into JJPTR.

And now, Robert has been proven right. Fortunately, his father was one of the lucky ones because he managed to recoup his principal sum, on top of the thousands more he had received over the past few months.

Billy, a man well-versed in such operations, said operators would always use forex trading or investment in foreign projects as cover stories to woo new members.

They paint vivid pictures of those joining becoming part of big-time developments in Third World countries like Cambodia and Vietnam.

Once you get closer to them, they will tell you outright it is a money game and that you are among the pioneers, sure to make a profit before the scheme bursts.

Things tend to be smooth sailing for the first few months. You see money coming back in and pride yourself in taking the risk.

But soon the saturation point is reached as new members to the pyramid slow to a trickle.

Then you can expect the scheme to collapse.

Billy pointed out that the higher the return on investment, the faster the scheme bursts.

That's because the operator cannot get enough new members to keep the scheme sustainable. At the same time, he has to deal with huge monthly payouts.

Some in Penang may remember the chance to invest in a cafe chain known as Island Red Cafe around 10 years ago. Then there was that company that sold gold bars and coins. There was also a Swiss cash scheme which took the country by storm.

As long as there is greed, such schemes will always re-emerge. As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Honestly, the quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

'Please bless the money game'

Still very much alive: Investors of Mama Captain are allowed to continue trading their virtual money at any outlet displaying the ‘Barrel2U’ banner.

GEORGE TOWN: Some investors are seeking “divine intervention” for money games to last.

A 10-second video clip of a man praying aloud before a temple shrine is fast circula­ting on social media and phone chat groups.

His prayer goes: “Datuk Gong (deity), I pray to you. Please bless money games. Please help them stay afloat for a few more months.”

His prayer is in Penang Hokkien and he mentions “money game” in English.

It is believed to be a satirical meme on money games, and there are several more spreading.

Memes on the Penang-based JJPTR, or Jie Jiu Pu Tong Ren in Mandarin (salvation for the common people), have also gone viral online.

One of them, titled “Life without JJ” in Chinese, is accompanied by a picture of a plate of plain rice topped with a few strands of fried vegetable.

Another similarly titled meme shows grubby, tattered underwear and is captioned: “Don’t ask me how my life is lately. The underwear explains everything!”

Meanwhile, a man known as Bingyen has cynically adapted the lyrics of a popular Mandarin song Zui Jin Bi Jiao Fan (Troubled Recently) to relate to JJPTR.

Interestingly, the Chinese name of JJPTR founder Johnson Lee rhymes with one of the song’s singers, veteran Taiwanese musician Jonathan Lee. Both their names are similar in pinyin – Li Zong Sheng.

Bingyen, in his lyrics, also advised the people to stay away from money games.

According to speculation online and media reports, JJPTR investors, said to number in the tens of thousands locally and internationally, including Canada, the United States and China, stand to lose RM500mil.

Lee, who has blamed the company’s losses on hackers, however, put the figure at US$400mil (RM1.75bil) in a widely-circulated video recording later.

The 28-year-old founder, in a video posted on the JJPTR Malaysia Facebook page last week, made a promise to repay its members by May 20. Also on the same day, the company is supposed to hold a dinner gathering at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

The forex trading company, along with its associate entities JJ Poor to Rich and JJ Global Network under www.jjptr.com, is among the 288 entities and individuals listed on Bank Negara’s Financial Con­sumer Alert as of Feb 24.

Source: Pinang points by Tan Sin Chow

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