Pong!

Here's a recent extract from The New Paper:

"Mr Kelvin Lim, who lives in Punggol, is worried that the more mahjong is seen as socially acceptable, the more damage it may bring to our society.

Said Mr Lim, 40, salesman: 'The community club may be seen as endorsing social gambling. Will Singapore become like Hong Kong one day? What if underground mahjong clubs start popping up in the heartlands?

'Although mahjong keeps the mind active and is said to help prevent dementia, I feel that in this case, the ill effects outweigh the benefits.'

Another Yishun resident, Madam Dulcie Lim, feels that the mahjong tournament is a good way to get more Singaporeans to participate in a charity event.

Said Madam Lim, 60: 'Many Singaporeans enjoy playing mahjong. It is more a recreational game than gambling."

You know how Singapore is always seen as being too uptight and excessively restrictive on her citizens? It's because of people like Mr Lim.

Following his line of argument, let's scrap cars. Why? Because Singapore may be seen to be endorsing global warming. Will Singapore become like Bangkok one day? What if traffic jams become a daily feature of life? What if smog covers the city? What if more people die of car accidents? What if our children become too pampered and spoilt to walk anywhere? Although cars move people from point A to point B, and is said to help reduce travelling time, but nooooo, the ill effects "outweigh" the benefits.

Don't be daft, Mr Lim. Mahjong is a recreational game for young and old alike. It makes for good social interaction, and the money involved is merely to add a bit more fun and excitement to the game, and the stakes are deliberately kept very low (at least for recreational players) such that the reason for playing the game will never be for the money. You can probably make more money spending your time picking rubbish to sell to the karang guni man!

Look, if people really want to gamble, they don't need mahjong. True-blooded, hardcore gamblers can do it with anything. They can play Monopoly with real money (yes, there is an element of chance involved - you throw dice), they can play scissors paper stone with stakes involved, heck, they can even bet on the number of cars to pass by in one minute! (assuming we haven't banned cars due to the social evils)

Mahjong is a great game to help develop quick thinking and analysis, and to top it off, it's fun and great for social bonding. So please, Mr Lim, chill out a bit yea?




(yes, ang mohs play mahjong too...)