It was Maddoff who designed the system. His competitors did some innovations to the original plan, and then many versions have come into beings carrying many names in many places under the sun. They are 'optimistic opportunists' led by rich figures who had
spun a yarn about their journey in reaching financial success via the system before they decided to become the followers. What fools ever deny the wise words of rich peoples trying to help them rich?
The promises were so convincing that I had seen myself embracing the world of multilevel marketing. With a capital worth only RM2,488 as a part of the programme's pre-requisite, I had become the blood brother of optimistic opportunists who practiced 'senyum simetri' (symmetrical smile) in front of aspiring downlines and will NEVER say "baik" (good) whenever someone greeted "apa khabar?" (how are you?). They will heroically say "hebat!" (great!) instead. It sounds very pretentious and funny to me because that kind of reply does not normally exist in my language.
"Apa khabar semua?!!!" the speaker yells energetically. How are you all, he says.
"Hebat!!!" reply the aspiring business partners.
"Naw we present youuu Tuuuan Haji Abu Akhlaqen! The top achiever in this reeegion!" yells the speaker. "Twenty-seven year old, yes! That's his age!! His monthly income is in five figures form!! Once again we present youuu... our honourable... Tuuuaan Haji Abu Akhlaqen!!!"
After that a man looking sharp in his finely tailored suit jogs in slow-mo towards the stage. Scorpion's vocalist singing the line here I am, rock you like a hurricane blares from the megaphone situated at the corner of the hall. Then the song is fading into silence.
"Apakabarrrr sssssmua!!!" the Akhlaqen guy greets everybody in the hall.
"HEBATT!!!!" yells everybody. This time, shit has got serious.
"Assalamualaikum. Hello everybody. Thanks to our emcee for tonight's event, Mr. Sadiq Segaraga, who is also my upline, for making my life a mess," everybody laughs. "Yeah, my life indeed a mess because I don't know what to do with my monthly income that worth RM35,000. Haih..."
"Yearrghhh!!! HEBAT!!!!" and they clap their hands.
That was how things work in the first step of recruiting new businessmen and businesswomen in multilevel marketing. After this ritual, they will become money zombies who value friendship more than normal people do. They will start visiting old friends and making good rapport with them.
This tells me the reason why Mother's old friend gave us a visit two weeks after Father died. She brought along her friend who was some sort of a friendly lady. She was the fat penguin that broke the ice and played with it. She really knew how to talk. Suddenly I saw the living room was flooded by promotions of this anti-oxidant product and that mineral supplement product. She told us their plan to visit China a few months afterward. She talked about how she left her permanent job to concentrate on this kind of business. She boasted her downlines' monthly income but she kept hers confidential. She talked about the system. She invited me to join the system. She insincerely praised my educational background so that I would join the business. She asked me to fold my sleeve upward and "let's see whether you have health problems. I'm using this device even modern medical practitioners use this thing." Yeah right.
The promises were so convincing that I had seen myself embracing the world of multilevel marketing. With a capital worth only RM2,488 as a part of the programme's pre-requisite, I had become the blood brother of optimistic opportunists who practiced 'senyum simetri' (symmetrical smile) in front of aspiring downlines and will NEVER say "baik" (good) whenever someone greeted "apa khabar?" (how are you?). They will heroically say "hebat!" (great!) instead. It sounds very pretentious and funny to me because that kind of reply does not normally exist in my language.
"Apa khabar semua?!!!" the speaker yells energetically. How are you all, he says.
"Hebat!!!" reply the aspiring business partners.
"Naw we present youuu Tuuuan Haji Abu Akhlaqen! The top achiever in this reeegion!" yells the speaker. "Twenty-seven year old, yes! That's his age!! His monthly income is in five figures form!! Once again we present youuu... our honourable... Tuuuaan Haji Abu Akhlaqen!!!"
After that a man looking sharp in his finely tailored suit jogs in slow-mo towards the stage. Scorpion's vocalist singing the line here I am, rock you like a hurricane blares from the megaphone situated at the corner of the hall. Then the song is fading into silence.
"Apakabarrrr sssssmua!!!" the Akhlaqen guy greets everybody in the hall.
"HEBATT!!!!" yells everybody. This time, shit has got serious.
"Assalamualaikum. Hello everybody. Thanks to our emcee for tonight's event, Mr. Sadiq Segaraga, who is also my upline, for making my life a mess," everybody laughs. "Yeah, my life indeed a mess because I don't know what to do with my monthly income that worth RM35,000. Haih..."
"Yearrghhh!!! HEBAT!!!!" and they clap their hands.
That was how things work in the first step of recruiting new businessmen and businesswomen in multilevel marketing. After this ritual, they will become money zombies who value friendship more than normal people do. They will start visiting old friends and making good rapport with them.
This tells me the reason why Mother's old friend gave us a visit two weeks after Father died. She brought along her friend who was some sort of a friendly lady. She was the fat penguin that broke the ice and played with it. She really knew how to talk. Suddenly I saw the living room was flooded by promotions of this anti-oxidant product and that mineral supplement product. She told us their plan to visit China a few months afterward. She talked about how she left her permanent job to concentrate on this kind of business. She boasted her downlines' monthly income but she kept hers confidential. She talked about the system. She invited me to join the system. She insincerely praised my educational background so that I would join the business. She asked me to fold my sleeve upward and "let's see whether you have health problems. I'm using this device even modern medical practitioners use this thing." Yeah right.
