Raya Aglow With Floating Buzzwords
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The culture ofgiving and saving, internet forex trading and loan lending are just some of the most frequently discussed topics at the countless open house gatherings held throughout the ongoing Raya festivities nationwide. There's even some talk about the wonders of a healthenhancing mattress.

While visitors savour the buffet feast of fatty, sweet and starchy delicacies like `Beef Rendang' (spiced coconut beef), Ketupat (rice cake) and 'Kueh Mor', among the hottest topics nowadays is, the introduction of a hi-tech Korean-Japanese mattress that is being sold in the country.

With characteristics such as `minus ion', `magnetic ultra long wave', and `far infrared' treatment, the mattress is designed for medicinal functions and could cure diseases.

Hence, one does not have to worry much about the high-cholesterol content of food while visiting the open houses, as such a mattress could smoothen blood flow and trim and get rid of excess fat as well as reduce the risk of heart disease, asthma, bronchitis, and fatigue, among others.

One customer in her 50's who was diagnosed with a kidney problem and was ordered to undergo dialysis treatment told the Bulletin how she recovered after using the mattress, thereby foregoing the need for such treatment.

One may just visit the house to seek forgiveness and politely reject the food and drink by saying that he or she is currently performing the highly recommended extra six days of fasting, this time in the month of Syawal. The reward is similar to fasting for the whole year, said Imams in the Friday sermon yesterday. The Imams also touched on the significance and benefits of such fasting.

Meanwhile, the culture of giving and saving through the tradition of distributing green packets to children" is now becoming a must, with such gestures being seen as 'Sedekah' or donations. Be it big or small, the money from the handouts could be saved for the future, which is in line with the government's initiative to encourage savings and wise spending among Bruneians.

Loan lending to buy necessities for Hari Raya is another popular topic of discussion. Government statistics revealed that in 2005, personal loans decreased by 12.4 per cent to B$2,455.8 million from B$2,802.5 million in 2004.

Government official statistics have also shown that as of December 2005, motor vehicle hire purchase represented the bulk of finance loans which counted for 98.8 per cent of the total loans, which is equivalent to B$866.8 million an increase of 21.2 per cent from 2004.

The other types of financed loans are consumer durables hire purchase and lease financing which amounts to B$10.1 million and $0.6 million respectively.

Forex trading on the Internet has been another buzzword, until the Ministry of Finance issued a statement yesterday reminding the public against errant and unlicensed traders and highlighting the risk of investing your money. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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