Buying Spree
On the front page of The Straits Times Singapore today (March 12), there's a picture of people lining up dragging boxes, queuing up for payment I guess, with the headline screaming "Crowds snapped up S$48 million of tech toys".
I chuckled. I thought to myself, I'm also going for a shopping spree but in Malaysia.
The headline should be yelling: "Malaysians snapped up RM 1.8 billion of government trust fund units in less than 6 hours".
I have a plan for the 'shopping'.
I set the alarm at 6am, but didn't hear the alarm go off. By the time I woke up with a shock, it was already 7.50am. My first reaction : I'm late!
I closed my eyes for a while to shake off the heavy head feeling and dragged myself out of bed to get ready. I thought to myself: this better be worth it. Ah, there's a limit of RM 50,000 for each person, so there's still hope for me. I jumped into the shower and was out of the house by 8.15am.
Along the journey, I could not shake off the nagging truth of how RM 1 billion of additional units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW2020) priced at RM 1 each were snapped up within 27 minutes during the previous round of units sale in Sept 2006.
By 9.15am, I've crossed the Causeway and walked to the Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) office in Johor Bahru, taking queue number from the guard. My number: 040. Uhuh.. how long is this going to take? I thought.
By then, the ASNB office was already full to the brim. (actually the office is quite small). The transaction will only start at 9.30am. But the officers had already started calling numbers for people who want to open new accounts by preparing the documents such as thumb prints and filling of forms, to facilitate processing later on.
As the time ticked nearer to 9.30am, the people inside the suffocating room got more restless. When the first two numbers were called, the buzz grew even louder and you could just feel the excitement in the air. Alas, after a few minutes past 9.30am, the computer system hanged.
You could almost feel as if the excitement had been snuffed out suddenly. The people waited and waited. After some time, people started walking away, to grab something to eat or to try their luck at other branches.
For me, I shuttled between the ASNB office and the Maybank next door. I walked pass the information counter so many times that even the maybank officer could recognise me and smiled everytime I passed by. At once, he even asked me how's the situation. I said, "Still checking both sides, not moving yet."
After that bout of exercise climbing stairs and pushing heavy set of glass doors, the buzz is back at 11.30am. The numbers finally started moving. I got even more excited, because the pile of passbooks at the Maybank branch is also getting lower as the minutes ticked by, while my queue number is creeping nearer at the ASNB office.
By forming a 'partnership' with another girl who was also shuttling between two branches (hers was even better exercise - she shuttled between two Maybank branches which are a few blocks away from each other; at least mine was just next door) we both managed to get Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) units after the Maybank officer suggested we apply for ASM instead of ASW2020 as it was easier for ASM transactions to go through.
Only children below 17 years old can open new accounts for ASW2020 while existing account holders could top up the units. It gives out slightly better returns compared to ASM.
At about 12.40pm, the system for ASW 2020 was finally back. And I managed to get mine too! Yippee! What a relief!
That was the best ever shopping spree I've been on. It had all the ingredients of a great super sale - the adrenaline rush, the exhilaration, the strategy planning, the waiting, the jostling and the relief of finally owning it.
And the best thing is, the money spent still belongs to you, cool isn't it?
Where to find such a 'financially healthy' sport?
No doubt, this will be the main item in my 'shopping list' and my 'shopping calendar'. Exercise for the mind, the heart and the pocket.
I'll be waiting to reap the fruits of my labour, effort and sacrifices for many years to come.
I chuckled. I thought to myself, I'm also going for a shopping spree but in Malaysia.
The headline should be yelling: "Malaysians snapped up RM 1.8 billion of government trust fund units in less than 6 hours".
I have a plan for the 'shopping'.
I set the alarm at 6am, but didn't hear the alarm go off. By the time I woke up with a shock, it was already 7.50am. My first reaction : I'm late!
I closed my eyes for a while to shake off the heavy head feeling and dragged myself out of bed to get ready. I thought to myself: this better be worth it. Ah, there's a limit of RM 50,000 for each person, so there's still hope for me. I jumped into the shower and was out of the house by 8.15am.
Along the journey, I could not shake off the nagging truth of how RM 1 billion of additional units of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW2020) priced at RM 1 each were snapped up within 27 minutes during the previous round of units sale in Sept 2006.
By 9.15am, I've crossed the Causeway and walked to the Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) office in Johor Bahru, taking queue number from the guard. My number: 040. Uhuh.. how long is this going to take? I thought.
By then, the ASNB office was already full to the brim. (actually the office is quite small). The transaction will only start at 9.30am. But the officers had already started calling numbers for people who want to open new accounts by preparing the documents such as thumb prints and filling of forms, to facilitate processing later on.
As the time ticked nearer to 9.30am, the people inside the suffocating room got more restless. When the first two numbers were called, the buzz grew even louder and you could just feel the excitement in the air. Alas, after a few minutes past 9.30am, the computer system hanged.
You could almost feel as if the excitement had been snuffed out suddenly. The people waited and waited. After some time, people started walking away, to grab something to eat or to try their luck at other branches.
For me, I shuttled between the ASNB office and the Maybank next door. I walked pass the information counter so many times that even the maybank officer could recognise me and smiled everytime I passed by. At once, he even asked me how's the situation. I said, "Still checking both sides, not moving yet."
After that bout of exercise climbing stairs and pushing heavy set of glass doors, the buzz is back at 11.30am. The numbers finally started moving. I got even more excited, because the pile of passbooks at the Maybank branch is also getting lower as the minutes ticked by, while my queue number is creeping nearer at the ASNB office.
By forming a 'partnership' with another girl who was also shuttling between two branches (hers was even better exercise - she shuttled between two Maybank branches which are a few blocks away from each other; at least mine was just next door) we both managed to get Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) units after the Maybank officer suggested we apply for ASM instead of ASW2020 as it was easier for ASM transactions to go through.
Only children below 17 years old can open new accounts for ASW2020 while existing account holders could top up the units. It gives out slightly better returns compared to ASM.
At about 12.40pm, the system for ASW 2020 was finally back. And I managed to get mine too! Yippee! What a relief!
That was the best ever shopping spree I've been on. It had all the ingredients of a great super sale - the adrenaline rush, the exhilaration, the strategy planning, the waiting, the jostling and the relief of finally owning it.
And the best thing is, the money spent still belongs to you, cool isn't it?
Where to find such a 'financially healthy' sport?
No doubt, this will be the main item in my 'shopping list' and my 'shopping calendar'. Exercise for the mind, the heart and the pocket.
I'll be waiting to reap the fruits of my labour, effort and sacrifices for many years to come.
posted by redsmoke at
2:13:00 AM
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