I did my Forms Four and Five in Kuala Lumpur's Technical
Institute. Majority of the students were from outstations and for them,
accommodation was provided in a hostel. It was eight to a room, except for
those who were in the third year to complete an essentially two-year course. We
called these people super-seniors. The two years of life away from home was a
very memorable and nostalgic one for all of us. After our Form Five, a couple
of us who had the fortune of passing the Sixth Form Entrance Examination were
sent to Penang to join the Technical Institute there, others went on to do
their diploma at the Technical College in Kuala Lumpur. For the rest, it meant
the end of schooling and the beginning of working life.
An old boy decided to organise an old-boys get-together -
50 years after we have gone separate paths. I would be happy to see many of
these old faces, even though some were very hostile to me in school.
Some days ago, one of these old boys gave me a call,
"YB, would you like to buy some of my Organo Gold coffee? I am in the
midst of a sales competition now." Apparently he was a member of this
multi-level marketing scheme. If he could persuade me to agree, on the spot, to take up 20 packets at
MYR50 each, he would qualify to go to the next round. Being one who has difficulty
in saying no to friends, I was prepared to oblige. When he emailed to thank me, I
noticed that the quantity had ballooned to 24 packs. "Never mind lah,
since it is only another MYR200," I said to myself.
Not being a coffee connoisseur, I asked the consignment
to be sent to our Class of 73 pool for distribution. (I am also an alumnus of the University of Malaya; 1973, Engineering.)
When the bill came, I nearly fell out of my chair; the
amount was MYR3,960! I lost no time in telephoning him to give him a
dressing-down!
You don't take advantage of friends, do you? He must have
thought that I am a goose that lays golden eggs! Or have I given the impression
that I am a tycoon ready to be ripped off? Silly me!
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