Daily Lessons from Life 16 November 2009

I came across 2 headlines that involved money but how it is used were world apart!

"Indian politician at centre of mega fraud probe
He looted up to 650 million US dollars during his five years as mines minister. -Mon, Nov 16, 2009 AFP"

and

"Schools built on dying wish" where a Tokyo man left 90m Yen upon his death.

NEW DELHI - When Madhu Koda became leader of a remote Indian state, the event passed unnoticed, but now he's making headlines daily - accused of massive fraud to fund a spectacular rags-to-riches rise.


India's tax department alleges Koda looted up to 650 million US dollars during his five years as mines minister and chief minister in eastern Jharkhand state, known for its huge mineral wealth and extreme poverty.

"It's big time. We're investigating a scam worth anywhere from 20 billion to 30 billion rupees (S$598 million to S$897 million)," Ujjwal Chaudhary, the income tax department official leading the investigation, told AFP.


The alleged fraud is the latest corruption scandal to beset India, long notorious for political and corporate graft, and where campaign group Transparency International says the situation has been worsening.

Last year India slipped in Transparency International's corruption index to 85th from 72nd in a list of 180 countries.


Koda, who pursued a luxurious lifestyle with frequent foreign trips, worked his way up from being a labourer in an iron ore mine and entered politics, winning a state assembly seat in 2000.

He became rural engineering minister a year later, awarding contracts for roads and bridges. In 2003, he took over as mines minister and from 2006 was chief minister, keeping the mines portfolio.


Jharkhand became known for its fast-track "single-window" government clearance system for iron-ore mining leases and contracts for rural electrification.

The system gave clearance approval to a single government committee, rather than an endless series of ministries and departments.


Koda quit as chief minister in 2008 when he looked set to lose a confidence vote.

Koda is not the lone Indian politician under a cloud.


A study by the Association for Democratic Reforms found nearly one-third of the 543 members of the national parliament face charges - including for felonies such as robbery and murder ? up 20 percent from the last parliament.

And while Koda's case has grabbed national attention, it is only 11 months ago that the founder of outsourcing giant Satyam stunned the corporate world by declaring he had inflated the company balance sheet by over one billion dollars.


Investment house Goldman Sachs has cited "governance" - political and corporate - as the biggest challenge facing India in attaining its economic potential.

"There's personal gain going on at public cost where people who are supposed to look after the interests of the people accumulate large sums," Anupama Jha, executive director of Transparency International India, told AFP.


"There are signs of deterioration in behaviour where people who have access to money do not feel accountable to the people they represent," Jha said."

"Schools built on dying wish
Tokyo man who died from cancer donated $1.4 million to children unable to receive adequate education. -Sat, Nov 14, 2009 The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network

Several schools and a education facility have been built in Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines this year with donations from a Tokyo man who died from cancer in October last year.


Masao Hosono, 76, who could not attend high school due to his family's financial circumstances, became distressed on his sickbed when he learned of children in various Asian countries who were unable to receive an adequate education, people close to him said.

Before his death, Hosono donated about 90 million yen to ChildFund Japan, a nonprofit organization based in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, that supports Asian children who live in poverty.


As his wife, Kazuko, and only son, Hidemitsu, had died, Hosono decided to use his savings to provide financial assistance to the Cambodian children, and he approached ChildFund Japan.

Inside the schools, which have been completed one after another since May, metal plates were fixed with the Japanese inscription, "Kazu, Hide, Masa" (many, excel and grace).


These kanji characters were taken from the given names of his wife, his son and himself, he said, in the hope that "many people--or even one person--would excel and live gracefully."

Also on the plate are the words: "For a bright future, I sincerely hope for the advancement of the children's education." This fervent desire also was expressed by Hosono."

Lessons for me are:

1. people amassed great wealth for different purposes. The ones who got the right reasons for gaining the massive wealth and how to spend it meaningfully normally are the happier lots. The ones who got it wrong, like to continue to amass more wealth to spend on themselves without realizing it won't bring them the sustained happiness!;

2. when people got the wrong reasons to amass great health, they will be sucked into continuously make that kind of wealth. Most wealth when it is easier made cannot be 'real'. Tremendous price of loss of innocence and integrity has to be paid. Ultimately the 'evil' deeds will be found out and the goodwill and fame turned into ill will and infamy! It always happen that way. Just a question when one will be found out and not if one will be found out!!;

3. My respect to Mr. Hosono. I am glad that he appreciates the meaningfulness of his wealth, puny compared to Mr. Koda's multi-millions! Maybe Mr. Koda and his cronies also contribute to charities. Maybe they were trying to change their 'karma'. To atone for the ill-gotten gain by doing charitable deeds to 'balance' the good and evil and hope that the deities or destiny will look the other way and let them live this double-life. Well, it is not how karma work! You harvest what you sowed and you receive punishment for the bad things you do eventually.

Good learning from 2 stories on money!!