All Malay government officers should buy shares

Every day we hear Malaysians grumbling that their EPF savings is not enough, and that most people have less than RM10,000 in their EPF, and that we need at least RM3 million to retire comfortably. Then, when someone supplements his income or retirement nest egg by investing in stocks, shares, bonds, unit trusts, etc., you call him a criminal.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

After working for more than 20 years, my wife and I had quite a bit of money in our EPF savings (not more than RM1 million, though). But it was not enough if we retired and then lived until we are 70 or 80. So we transferred part of our EPF money to Public Mutual.

We could not sell the Public Mutual shares, though, and if we did the money would go back to EPF until we retired and were eligible to withdraw our money.

We also bought ASN/ASB shares. There was a limit, though, so, if we wanted to buy more, we would have to use the names of our children and other family members, which we did, and which was not illegal.

As for funds, we took bank loans and pledged the shares to the bank. Banks were ever willing to give us loans for share trading. Of course, if the share value dropped, we had to top up by the end of the day, or else the bank would force-sell our shares.

We also traded heavily in the stock market. Our remisiers were Seagroatt & Campbell (Azizah) and Mohaiyani Securities.

In the mid-1980s, my wife and I had a portfolio of more than RM20 million, with a market capitalisation of RM120 million, backed by bank loans of RM20 million. (Many of the shares we bought at RM1.00 were being traded at RM10.00 — such as Promet, Johan Holdings, etc.)

On 19th October 1987, ‘Black Monday’ hit the entire world and we got wiped out. Our shares, which were trading at more than RM10.00 a share, dropped to less than RM0.50. The banks force-sold all our shares — and the more they sold, and the faster they sold, the lower the share price went.

After selling everything, I still owed the bank millions.

That was when I stopped playing the market and focused on just ASN/ASB and Public Mutual, which was better than leaving your money in EPF. Of course, you need to go long term, but by the time you retired your money would double or triple — compared to EPF.

That helped me buy a home in the UK. My sons moved to the UK 21 years ago in 2001 three months after 911. The plan was, my wife and I would move here around 2010 when I reached 60 and retired. I ended up moving here in March 2009, a year or so earlier than planned.

The point here is, your EPF and/or pension is not enough. You need to invest in stocks, shares, bonds, unit trusts, and so on. And you need to do it early before you reach 50.

I was a licenced agent for Public Mutual, which means I could sell shares. And I know for a fact that many Malays, in particular government servants, invest not only in ASN/ASB but also in mutual funds (in particular, Public Mutual) as well as the stock market.

The stock market is not an exclusive Chinese industry. Malays, too, are heavy market players. And they dabble in millions.

I cannot understand why they are making a brouhaha regarding MACC’s Azam Baki (or Azam Baki’s brother) playing the market. Millions of Malays play the market. The number of shares that Azam Baki is supposed to have bought is small potatoes. My portfolio in 1987 before ‘Black Monday’ was tens of millions.

In the aftermath of ‘Black Monday’, I returned to the market in 1990 and bought one million Hexza Corporation Berhad shares. The RM0.50 shares were on offer at RM0.65. My wife came out with RM150,000 cash and I borrowed RM500,000 from the bank to pay for the shares. I then handed the shares to my wife to manage.

The shares went up and she sold the shares. After paying off the bank, we made a net profit of RM1 million. RM1 million in 1990 was a lot of money then.

I also helped the Terengganu Malay Chamber of Commerce, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, to play the market. I bought 2.6 million Hexza Corporation Berhad shares (worth RM1.69 million) under the name of the Terengganu Malay Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, we had to borrow the money from the bank and the bank made me guarantee that loan, which I did. Within a year, the Terengganu Malay Chamber of Commerce, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, became cash rich — thanks to the stock market (and to my wife who managed those shares and sold them at the right time.

It is puzzling for people like me that the opposition and anti-government people are treating playing the market as a crime against humanity.

Every day we hear Malaysians grumbling that their EPF savings is not enough, and that most people have less than RM10,000 in their EPF, and that we need at least RM3 million to retire comfortably. Then, when someone supplements his income or retirement nest egg by investing in stocks, shares, bonds, unit trusts, etc., you call him a criminal.

Just for your information, not all Malays have tongkat or crutches mentality. Some Malays, like Azam Baki and/or his brother, do know how to play the market, just like how the Chinese do. Bukan semua Melayu bangsa subsidy, and it is racist to say if a Malay plays the market that can only mean because he is a crook.