Tough Luck

My father was in the Judiciary for 20 years. He had since retired and currently sits on the board of several companies. Back when i was still studying in uni, come hari raya he would hold the customary open house. Among the guests were members of the Bench and the Bar. There was one particular year at our open house when i remember being approached by a turban attired gentleman and was handed four packets of duit raya, each for my siblings and myself.

After the guests had left, I distributed the packets among my siblings and we promptly open it. To our astonishment, we each received 500. It was quite a lot back then. We were all jumping up and down with cash in our hands. My dad came and asked what's all the commotion. We proudly showed the cash in our hands and said one of the lawyers gave us "duit raya". Without hesitation he said give it back to me..I was like "Wha...??" He said he cannot allow us to accept it and wants to give it back to the lawyer. As we passed the money to him, we could only imagine what we could have bought with all the money. I heard that the next day he had returned the money to the lawyer.

I couldn't understand back then what was the big deal. Looking back, I now know why he had to return it. Giving money to his children is akin to giving money to him. With his position on the Bench it would bring a negative impression on him even if the gesture was genuine.

That's how "tough" my life was. I wonder if it's the same being a Prime Minister's son...or son in law.