Malaysia Money Matters

I have been entertaining the thought of adopting a child for quite some time now. However, it will probably be only a pipe dream because given the realities of raising a child single-handedly is not something I can handle in terms of energy and time. Financially, I guess I'm ok but that is only the tip of the iceberg. So what brought this about was that a friend of a friend is getting a child, single also. And really, he's in no shape to do so. Not financially stable, no family support here (they live in East Malaysia, a flight away) and ermm not matured enough yet, I think. Although who is to say, maybe getting a child will force him to get his act together. Anyway, since this blog is all about money, I thought I'd break down the adoption issue in terms of the real costs involved and hold on to your hair, what I'm about to say is not very pleasant: First - there are 2 ways of adopting here: one is through the Welfare department, the other is to find your own baby...

There's been a lot of hoo-ha in the media lately here - from Anwar's remark while on the dock to Jamil's so-called 'call for protest against gay marriage'. I mean, seriously? Is this even an issue in Malaysia? Firstly, as a Buddhist, this is not an issue to me. Marriage is a social convention that is part of the samsara world. It is what it is, when done well (i.e. a happy marriage), it produces stable individuals who can develop themselves. When done badly (i.e. broken or unhappy marriage), it produces unhappy people - both parents AND kids with long lasting implications. So whether marriage is good, bad, for heterosexuals only, can be for gays also and so on is a pointless debate because the debate does not focus on the actual results. Of course, on an overall basis, a stable family life produces a well-balanced society. A well-balanced society means a good environment for mental cultivation and reduced suffering. I think a stable family life be it heterosexua...