Instead of being grateful, we should feel insulted for being branded as gamblers by custom and traditions.
I can still remember as a kid, my father was indignant when my eldest brother's father-in-law said that those who cannot play mahjong are stupid! The reason for his annoyance was not so much his disagreement that mahjong needs some intelligence to be able to play and more so to excel, but because at the time, gambling was causing financial and other problems to my brother.
As kids, we were not allowed to gamble but secretly played card games by making playing cards from cigarette packs! It was only later when our extended family grew with grandchildren that gambling was allowed during Chinese New Year period. I knew then that I will not be a good businessman when I was on a winning streak and did not enjoy the winnings from relatives who could ill afford to lose money. In other words, given the chance, I would not profiteer at the expense of others. In business, when one comes across an opportunity, one does not let it pass to someone else, even a relative or friend, but to grab it for oneself. To a certain extent, making business decisions involve taking risks, and some people associate Chinese to be good at it.
Just recently, my wife's friend sold her piece of land at Rm80,000 per acre instead of the market value of at least Rm120,000! She had gone senile and her adopted daughter arranged it through a broker who made extra commission while she pocketed a substantial sum off the record! There was no tax reason at all for selling officially at lower price. It was obvious that the buyer seized the opportunity even though he was a neighbour and supposedly a friend!
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