RM10,000 For Their Thoughts

ENGLISH language teacher Khairul Husna Abdul Kadir, 35, may be a long way off from retirement but the birth of her fourth child set her thinking wheels in motion for retirement dreams and won her RM10,000 in the AXA Affin Freedom at 50 contest.

Khairul Husna – one of the five winners – said she took advantage of her boredom during her confinement to take part in the contest, which attracted over 2,400 entries. “I sent two entries. I didn’t put much thought in the fi rst entry but after reading an article and looking at the advertisement in theSun, I put my heart into it and really thought about a slogan,” she said. The mother of two sons and two daughters aged between eight and three months sent in an entry centred on education plans for one of her sons who suffers from Down Syndrome, and his future.

The contest was held in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka anniversary and required participants to articulate their retirement dreams, starting with the phrase “My retirement dreams when I reach 50 are …” in less than 50 words.

AXA Affin Life Insurance CEO Vincent Kwo presented the RM10,000 cheques to the winners – Khairul Husna, Chow Kok Kee, Yoong Lai Sin, S. Jayakrishnan and Lum May Yim – at a ceremony held at the AXA Affin office recently. Chow, 41, travelled from his hometown in Kuantan to receive his prize. “It’s my first time winning a contest. Actually it’s my first time participating in a contest,” he said. Chow said he drew encouragement and inspiration from his idea of early
retirement from books. “I have been reading many books on retirement, of late, so this is an achievement,” he said.

New Straits Times sub-editor Jayakrishnan, 51, said he has theSun delivered to his home daily. He sent in 16 entries and added a hint of imagination when sending in his entry forms. “I used the 50-year factor and my hopes for the next 50 years. I will invest the cash prize and watch it grow to benefit my two-year-old twin sons in their education,” he said.

Purchasing manager Yoong, 51, said her dreams were based on ideas for a holiday and developing a business idea for sustainable continuous income after retirement. The mother of three sons and a daughter said she will use her winning monies on her Hongkong holiday with her family in December, before embarking on her plans to set up a book rental business.

Businesswoman Lum, 44, said she sent in about seven entries and was excited to know that her first entry won her the prize money. “I had lost interest in taking part in contests and it has been over 10 years since I last sent in an entry form so I’m very happy. “My slogan was basically a dream which will hopefully come true – a cosy retirement home and enough wealth to travel to places without worrying about exchange rates. “After a dinner with the family to celebrate the occasion, I plan to invest the remainder and hopefully by the time I reach 50, I can work on my dream,” the mother of three said.

Kwo said besides the aim to position AXA Affin closer to customers, it was to encourage the younger generation to think ahead and plan for the future. “Time flies very quickly and many don’t really plan for when they reach the stage.”

More Info About This Contest: Click Here

*From TheSun (Sept 2007)