I'd bet on...nothing.

I come from Taiping. The town market, better known as Siang Malam, used to be a favourite spot where locals bet on the first rain drop that hit the roof and trickles down to the road. It has been practiced for generations.

I remember writing a series of articles on football betting – a subject which branched out after I revealed our President Cup matches are monitored by bookies last year. The articles earned me a nomination for the A.Samad Ismail award at the Malaysian Press Institute awards night earlier this year.

Talk about legalising sports betting is objected by many parties. Gambling is not healthy for all – majority or minority - thus I tend to disagree with Uncle Samy's statement here. Politicians are using this issue as a perfect avenue to claim how righteous and religious they are.The government should EXPLAIN the situation properly.

It was rightly highlighted - in an episode on Astro Arena’s Kafe Sukan - where earnings from Sports Toto is channeled to the National Sports Council. How come we don’t see any protests there?

I’m not for gambling, as I’m not for smoking. If it’s unhealthy, it's unhealthy. But if it's a good method to monitor the outflow of our Ringgit and a source of income for the government, why not? At least I’m not being a hypocrite and neither is Syed Akhbar Ali.

All this talk about sports betting reminds one of this story - Gambling: Why Pick on Pete Rose? - published on July 10, 1989 in the U.S edition of Time magazine.



HD says: If legalising betting, cutting down on subsidiaries and the GST is rejected by the masses, then the only best solution to beef up the nation's funds is to PAY YOUR FREAKIN’ TAXES, YO! At least the government will be able to repair the pot holes which usually screws up car rims and shock absorbers every six months.

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