When confronted by a need to fill up space, the trick is to write more even though a discerning reader might notice that that space is filled with baloney.
Published in The Star Newspaper on Sunday May10, 2009. at his Golf Editorial, Wong Sai Wan, began in this manner:
As the world struggles with the global financial crisis, all other countries have turned to those in Asia to spark a return to the giddy days of economic boom.
Yes, Asia is once again expected to come to the rescue of the rest of the world, especially the developed nations.
Huh?
He goes on further to explain his golfconomics by saying:
Last year, a certain major equipment maker suddenly realised that its huge US orders of drivers were not going to sell because of the financial crisis started to bite in the US.
What did they do?They flooded the Asian markets with the overstocked drivers, but with a difference –they re-shafted the clubs to Asian specifications. Of course, they also dropped the price, which was good news.
As far as my memory may stretch, I do not recall when it ever happened that the third world Asian countries, underdeveloped Asian countries and the developing Asian countries “spark(ed) a return to the giddy days of economic boom” or “is once again expected to come to the rescue of the rest of the world”. Do you?
It is very apparent reading Wong’s golfconomics, that the Governments and financial experts, and you may as well throw in the IMF and the World Bank too, have focussed and are still focussing on the wrong solutions for a World Economic Recovery. They missed the solution – Golf!
In a money sport such as Golf, where the price of a driver would feed a poor Asian family for a month, maybe more, I find Wong’s rationale incredulous let alone ridiculous.
It is a sport that enlists the elite upper class Company Executives whose Gold Club membership is part of the Company’s fringe benefits afforded to them.
After which, you may throw in a handful of middle class Executives who begin by being caddies for their golf playing Boss – it’s part of the shoeshine rat race game you know. These middle class Executives who stay on course (pun intended) finally get a free driver from their shoe shined Boss and become his fawning sparring Golf partner.
That is what in Company philosophy we call euphemistically as, the “buddy-buddy” management technique. If you don’t understand that, try the more derogatory term:
“You scratch my back; I scratch yours.”
Apart from these two Company golf nuts (if I may borrow Wong’s description for a keen golf player because he described the present Chief Minister of Penang as a golf nut), Asia is still reeling from the Global financial crisis that has bitten deeply into their economies and populace.
Well and then again, is it true that the golf drivers were re-shafted or is it the Asian markets that were? However, the drop in price for the drivers indicates the Asian purchasing power. One down Mr. Wong because it does contradict your perception on Economics.
Therein lies the folly in writing ostentatiously merely to fill up space for a tabloid.
Truth be told, Economics is serious business. Golf isn’t.
