Pyramid Scheme & Multi Level Marketing (MLM)

Recently I met an old friend of mine, (my schoolmate actually) online. Been at least 13 years since SPM mind you. Well, it was rather a short online chatting until we decided to meet at a coffeehouse. She's not married yet and she's quite pretty so I was quite excited to meet her.

I'll cut it short. We met and we talked about years after school for like 5 minutes and when we started talking of what we do in life now, she started talking about the multilevel marketing (MLM) that she's in to. I was like, "Is she trying to get me into it...?".

Well, she did... Actually, 50% of the reason she's meeting me is to catch up with me and the other 50% is to lure me into the business.

The business she was offering me is like this (I have to make a sample, otherwise I’ll get sued, hahaha!); just register with the company at any of this package:

* Package A at RM10,000
* Package B at RM25,000
* Package C at RM50,000


Then you’ll get to choose some products of your choice ranging from electronics, cosmetics, health care and exercise machine. Looking at the products, I definitely know that it worth only a fraction of the money. After that, you’ll have to get your own downline i.e. getting other people to register under you. Then you’ll get some percentage of the registration fee, your upline will get some, your upline’s upline will get some and so on.

She also explained that, the best technique to get more income is to get more and more of downline. The physical product is just something you get during registration. THAT’S basically selling registration instead of selling real products!

I was not really amused. I'm okay with MLM like AVON and eCosway because they do sell their products and because their main business is selling products. But not this one.

This kind of business is a PYRAMID scheme hidden under an MLM business. IT IS THE SAME. The more people you get to ‘invest’ under you, the more ‘return’ you get. Similarly, the more people ‘register’ under you, the more ‘commission’ you get.

At least, three people that I know personally had fallen into this scheme. All three of them invest at least RM20,000 each hoping that they will get more. To make it worst, one of them took a loan to fund his investment, which I’m kind of sad to think about. They are not rich.

My advice is, if someone offers you an offer that is too good to be true, chances are, it is not. If an MLM is more on selling ‘registration’ instead of selling real products; it is a PYRAMID scheme, not an MLM.

If you are one of those whose doing this kind of business, please stop mislead people into the scheme. Stop taking people's money for nothing please....

About the friend of mine, I tried to explain to her that what she's doing is not right. But well, she already sees the money, so as you can guess, she sticks to her believe that the scheme is legit. I never met her again after that day.

100% Tanpa Alkohol! Tanpa was-was! Betul ke?

Ini adalah petikan daripada salah satu iklan minyak wangi yang baru-baru ini sangat popular di kalangan masyarakat Malaysia;

"- Produk muslim
- 100% pati minyak wangi yang halal,
- Dirumus dari bahan yang suci dan bersih
- ALCOHOL FREE boleh digunakan tanpa was-was
- HARGA MURAH,saiz botol 2 kali ganda lebih besar berbanding keluaran myk wangi lain...
- Terdapat pelbagai pilihan wangian setaraf jenama2 terkenal..."

Jadi... apa masalahnya? Masalahnya ialah, alkohol dalam minyak wangi tidak ada kaitannya dengan arak. Ini bermaksud minyak wangi beralkohol;
i) adalah HARUS digunakan,
ii) TIDAK HARAM disentuh,
iii) BOLEH DIGUNAKAN untuk BERSEMBAHYANG (dengan syarat, bahan-bahan lain yang digunakan dalam pati minyak wangi itu bukan berasaskan babi, bangkai atau bahan-bahan lain yang diharamkan Islam)

Itulah... marah sungguh saya setiap kali melihat iklan yang mewar-warkan 100% tanpa alkohol boleh digunakan tanpa was-was. Sebabnya mudah, tidak salah menggunakan minyak wangi beralkohol walaupun untuk dibawa bersembahyang.

Lebih lanjut lagi...

Sebelum kita berbincang dengan lebih lanjut mengapa minyak wangi beralkohol HARUS digunakan bersembahyang, mari kita fahamkan dahulu apa itu ALKOHOL:
i) Alkohol ialah sebatian organik yang mempunyai kumpulan hydroxyl (-OH) yang terikat dengan karbon pada kumpulan alkyl (CnH2n+1). Alkohol = (CnH2n+1) + (OH)
ii) Terdapat beratus-ratus jenis alkohol yang mana ia bergantung kepada jumlah karbon yang terdapat pada setiap satu rantaian sebatian tersebut dan cara rantaian tersebut bergabung antara satu sama lain contohnya:
- Metanol = C1H3OH
- Etanol = C2H5OH
- Propanol = C3H7OH
- Butanol = C4H9OH; Pentanol, Octanol....etc.
iii) Yang memabukkan di dalam arak ialah ETANOL iaitu salah satu jenis daripada kumpulan alkohol.
iv) Satu lagi fakta penting ialah SEMUA alkohol adalah RACUN, yang mana akan menyebabkan kematian jika diambil; KECUALI ETANOL; yang mana akan memabukkan jika diambil dalam kuantiti yang kecil.
v) ETANOL pula boleh menyebabkan kematian jika diambil dalam kuantiti yang banyak. Ingat, kebanyakan arak cuma mengandungi 6% hingga 35% etanol. Lebih banyak dari itu, kematian atau kecacatan kekal saraf atau organ lain boleh berlaku!

Lihat link wikipedia berikut untuk penjelasan lanjut tentang alkohol (alkohol)

Seterusnya:
i) Arak BUKANLAH NAJIS. Etanol juga bukanlah najis. Tidak perlu samak atau istinjak jika tersentuh arak atau tersentuh alkohol lain.
ii) Yang diharamkan oleh Islam ialah MEMINUM arak, kerana arak memabukkan; bukannya alkohol.
iii) Alkohol dalam minyak wangi TIDAK MEMABUKKAN. Sebab? Kita tidak minum minyak wangi.

Anda 'cuma' akan MATI jika meminumnya. Minyak wangi tanpa alkohol pun, tidak ada siapa yang minum. Jadi apa masalahnya menggunakan minyak wangi beralkohol?

Majlis Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa Kebangsaan pada 11-14 April 1984 di Ipoh telah menegaskan bahawa "ubat-ubatan dan minyak wangi yang mengadungi alkohol hukumnya harus dan dimaafkan". Begitu juga Majlis Fatwa Al-Azhar.

Pemahaman yang mengatakan alkohol adalah haram, tidak boleh disentuh, najis, adalah TIDAK BENAR sama sekali, dan sangat menyimpang dari kebenaran.

Jadi, jika anda jumpa iklan-iklan seumpama itu, bencilah ia... kerana ia seolah-olah mempersendakan agama, menjual agama dan menyimpang jauh dari kebenaran.

Zero Cholesterol from Plant Origin

Have you ever seen "Cholesterol Free" label on Soy Drink? Or sometimes on cooking oil bottle? It has been hurting my intelligence since secondary school where I learn that cholesterol only comes from animal origin. I try not to look at that label as I will start thinking on how the manufacturer misleads the consumer. For me, that kind of labeling is the same as putting “Sugar Free” on gasoline pump.

I kept this uneasiness to myself since I thought everyone knows about it. However, after the latest blood test results came in (my company provides free blood test for every staff once a year), one of my colleagues said he wants to reduce oily food intake as his cholesterol level is increasing. I had to explain to him that there’s no cholesterol in palm oil. Believe me; it is hard to convince him.

Then I started asking other people whether they are aware of that fact and it turned out that most of them are not!

When you see a “Cholesterol Free” label on a particular product, let say “Brand A” palm oil, you will subconsciously believe that other palm oil brands has cholesterol. That’s what marketers do. So, even though it actually does not exist in any palm oil, putting that label increases the marketability of their brand. However, this will subconsciously lead to believing that palm oil has cholesterol.

Again, there's simply no cholesterol in any food that originates from plant. Any plant at all. So, every time you see this kind of label, hate it please....