It’s not race-based. The Australian whites have a similar culture of cutting people cruelly down to size called the tall poppy syndrome. Goes to show that this is an intrinsic, innate form of ugliness of the human psyche.

As evolved human beings, we must strive to be above this.

I’ve often stated that other people’s wealth and material possessions and successes and academic qualifications don’t bother me - good for them, but no sleep lost on my part. It didn’t always start off that way.

I attended an academically prestigious (40 years ago anyway) SRK and SMK. When I was still in primary school, and because we were B40, and this was a good school with students from well to do backgrounds, I used to wonder why my classmates could come to school in their parents’ flashy BMWs and Mercedes Benzes. My father had a banged up Datsun 120Y which he bought 3rd or 4th hand.

I felt the envy and longing at the sight of the richer kids. And there was no way my family could afford those luxuries.

Thankfully, those feelings didn’t stay with me for long. It was easy to forget - because the sight of my father rushing off to his second job after his day job ended, and the sight of my mother’s fingers bleeding from the sewing she had done for extra money filled me with pride that they were honest, hardworking folk and bathed me in shame that I even entertained wanting more than what they’ve already worked so hard to give. Gratitude for what little we had gradually but surely took over as the primary emotion I felt, and soon it was no longer important what other people had - what mattered was how I treasured and valued and made the best of what I was given so generously.

But, for reasons best known to her, she has yet to come in to profess her innocence and at least, offer us her version of events.

In a case like this, shouldn’t the basis premise of “innocent until proven guilty” be applied?

I am inclined to agree with you. Especially in light of how this thread has unfolded, and also because of this rather confusing - and what I felt - unnecessarily convoluted reply I received from her via PM:



But, it would have been nice to cast away all this conjecture and hear it from the person directly, no?

This post has been edited by hksgmy: May 14 2020, 08:08 AM

Scammers usually have an ulterior motive, to ultimately get something of value from the victim.

As far as I know, there was neither pecuniary gain nor fiduciary advantage whatsoever from her actions and postings.

Terima kasih kepada tuan yang mulia, atas pencerahan tuan. Negara kita memang bersyukur ramai yang beraklak mulia dan mental pintar semacam tuan.

Don’t say that lah... our Queen is wealthy and powerful.... and she was a forum user!

The relationship is as per normal forum interactions - but she did tag me on quite a few occasions, and I would normally answer as I try to do. Then, she also started contributing in some of the threads I started, where I asked for suggestions for my niece’s (now postponed due to COVID19) wedding. That’s how it started - all quite cordial and friendly.

Edited to add: there was one holiday to Japan that my wife and I flew first class and I sent some photos inflight using the free wifi. She then replied to say that she was also flying to (a different part) of Japan and doing so in her private jet which is part of a fleet her husband manages. I guess just chit chat like that.

This post has been edited by hksgmy: May 14 2020, 08:42 AM

In a nutshell, 100 marks for an excellent summary!

Eh eh, meow-meow bilang jangan dot jay peg.

You should take the trouble to read through it ... and judge for yourself.

Well, I've always presumed quite the opposite - as I mentioned, even with @timidandslow, I spoke up for his "imaginary" six figure FD initially, until he was outed.

What the rest of /k does is up to /k.

No, it's just my nature and personality. Perhaps it's because of my formative experiences - and of how good people have made such a difference in my life. For instance, after our STPM exams, I was a little late in getting an application form from the Australian High Commission for the Colombo Plan Commonwealth Scholarship - but, a class mate of mine passed me his form, saying that I'd probably have a better chance of being selected than he. That simple act of kindness changed my life, as I was indeed selected for the scholarship.

Also, as a physician, I am trained to cast aside all doubt. A patient coming in complaining of "chest pain" needs to be taken seriously, even if my personal feeling is that he's just here to fudge a couple of days of MC from me. If I doubted him, and he drops dead from a real heart attack ... well, how could I live with myself?

So, the same principle is carried over to my interactions in the forum - if I start off doubting everyone and everything, and being cynical and skeptical and vindictive about it from the get go, then honestly, I have to question my motive and rationale of coming onboard a forum like this in the first place.

At the end of the day, I am not guilty of anything other than extending a leap of faith in trust to a stranger if I'm "fooled", and I'm a "victim". Better that, than to prejudge everyone and end up missing out on genuine interactions and meaningful exchanges of ideas and knowledge.

I'd really rather not say, just so I can continue my relative anonymity and enjoy my "me" time on the forum ...

Why do you seem to have such trouble grasping the concept of healthy exchange of views and ideas in a polite and constructive environment? There's no need to contaminate every encounter with toxicity and cynicism.

I enjoy the company of a lot of people on these forums - 2feidei & destiny6 for teaching me how to edit photos & attach photos when I first started out, TheBornLoser, for his lexicon-like command of the English language, and so many others in the Finance forum, for their insights and knowledge, amongst others.

I don't see why a similarly friendly exchange with friedriceman would warrant your scrutiny and scorn.

Oh wow... so much /k emotional baggage, so much water under the bridge..... but, how has adversely that affected the mildly interested, bemused reader, I wonder?

Actually, you're correct ... in her PM reply to me, (as reproduced below):



She hinted that you were Soo Tien Ann, and that she had placed the "doctored" photos in advance to throw you off the trail ... and that's when the penny kind of dropped for me, to be honest. It sounded a little too contrived and convoluted to be convincing.

This post has been edited by hksgmy: May 14 2020, 10:32 AM

Thanks bro. But, at the moment, I'm kinda confused about @ladytarot99 .... perhaps it's because I'm a relative newbie when it comes to forum decorum and protocol, but it would seem that the evidence is pretty damning at the moment - and if I were objective towards the evolution of my interaction with @timidandslow, then surely, the same objectively must be applied in the face of the comments in this thread, regarding our mutual friend.

The onus thus has to be on her to provide a rebuttal to these hateful accusation, to silent the detractors once and for all, or am I wrong to think that?

Perhaps your greater experience may help shed some clarity on the matter.

As might someone whose influences included works from Chaucer, Bernard Shaw, Tolkien and Hemingway, amongst others (although to be honest, I hated Shakespeare)!

Oh dear.

On a separate, lighter note, I like your avatar - but those are upgraded white angel eyes in your E46, aren't they? 7000K?

This post has been edited by hksgmy: May 14 2020, 11:03 AM

Oh, I missed that deleted post.