Money, money, money

The University of Strathclyde Alumni Malaysia (USAM) – of which I am a member – is planning a Homecoming Trip to Glasgow next month (01-08 August 2009 to be exact). This coincides with the Homecoming Scotland 2009 celebration that is taking place in Scotland itself, and which is also the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth. Robert Burns, in case you didn’t know, is an 18th century poet known as the Bard of Scotland (Auld Lang Syne is one example of his many works!). This Homecoming Scotland 2009 means Scots will be toasting Scotland’s great contributions to the world: golf, whisky, great minds and innovations and Scotland’s rich culture and heritage.
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I wish I could be there in Scotland next month – but it will cost me a whopping RM10,000! Now, who says money is not important? Sigh, double sigh, triple sigh... Aaahhh, to have money, lots of money... say, RM10k right now would be my dream come true!

Sekinchan ADUN and PR assemblyman Ng Swee Lim who disclosed the “Istana Khir” story to the press, continued to turn the spotlight on Mohd Khir – the former had argued that it was not possible for the latter to even afford the RM3.5 million loan he claimed to have taken from HSBC to buy the said mansion. In fact, Ng alleged that Mohd Khir would have to pay RM16,000 a month to service the loan, while his allowance as the Selangor state opposition leader was just over RM8,000 a month (The Malaysian Insider, posted July 07 at webpage http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/31585-pakatan-rep-calls-khir-toyos-bluff). C’mon, Ng – times are really bad now. Maybe Mohd Khir is like everybody else – he’s moonlighting! As I have just said, we all need the money! Or maybe he can really afford! As an UMNO stalwart, he is likely to sit on the boards of many UMNO-linked companies, which means he has other sources of legitimate income apart from his allowance. It’s hard to believe that an UMNO politician cannot afford this class of luxury!