Dhammic Life

Sometimes, the supernatural is very hard to explain in terms of science and technology. The latest, after the lucky tailed frog is a lucky 'bunga tanjong' tree at Rifle Range, Penang. Follow the series of events connected to this special tree as reported by the Star newspaper!

1st report : Friday July 28, 2006

Tree of fortune a hot draw By NG SU-ANN sang@thestar.com.my

PENANG: Chinese New Year may be months away but a giant “ang pow tree” in Rifle Range, Air Itam, here, is drawing people from near and far. Hung on this bunga tanjung tree near the hawker complex are hundreds of red ang pow packets gaily flapping in the breeze. Many punters are said to have struck it rich after writing their favourite 4-digit numbers on red packets and stringing them up on the tree. Retired cook Chuah Eng Lum, 60, said it all started when the Laughing Buddha appeared to him in a dream in April.

“He said luck was coming to Rifle Range and told me to find a tree for the red packets,” he said on Wednesday.

“My friends and I decided to try it out with our special numbers for fun. To our surprise, we won a small fortune.”

Since then, Chuah said, people from as far as Taiping, Alor Star and Johor Baru had travelled to Penang to “pay homage” to the tree of fortune.

“We gather here daily from 9am to 1pm. We just want to help people, especially the poor, win some money.”

On their way back from marketing, housewives Tan Phaik Tin, Loh Phaik Kim and Tan Bee Choo were spotted asking Chuah to help them string their ang pow packets with their favourite numbers on the tree. Phaik Tin, 65, said she had written her car number on her packet.


2nd report : Wednesday August 2, 2006

Branches lopped off ang pow tree : By CHRISTINA CHIN sgchris@strmal.thestar.com.my

PENANG: The ang pow tree in Rifle Range, Air Itam, here has shrunk in size but the faith in its “magic powers” has apparently not diminished. On Monday afternoon, the lower branches of the bunga tanjung tree – on which punters have been hanging red packets with their favourite 4-digit numbers – were removed by Penang Municipal Council workers.

However, by 11am yesterday, more than 200 red packets were waiting to be placed on the lucky tree. The workers took off the branches of the tree and those of three others nearby on Monday afternoon, said resident Ooi Ah Wah, 71, who have since April been helping punters hang up their red packets on the tree. He said the council workers asked them to remove the ang pows before sawing off the branches

“They told us that the trees were too big and needed to be trimmed,” he said.

He said the tree might have lost some of its branches but he was sure it still retained its powers.
“A Bangladeshi worker who did not even have enough money to eat wrote his number on the electric pole next to the tree last week and ended up with a small fortune,” he said.
But a resident who declined to be named said the crowd had become a nuisance.

3rd report : Thursday August 3, 2006

Ang pow tree again blooming

PENANG: The ang pow (red packets) tree in Rifle Range, Air Itam, here is blooming again. News of the bunga tanjung tree’s humbled size – Penang Municipal Council workers had pruned its lower branches along with the red packets on Monday – has attracted more people to the site over the past three days. They have hung up hundreds of red packets on the tree’s remaining branches.

Said resident Ooi Ah Wah: “It is sad that some residents lodged complaints to the council that the tree was being worshipped like a god, and that we were collecting fees from punters to hang up their ang pow. It is just a lucky tree and people should not pray to it. We also don’t charge money as we merely want to help those in need of money.”

He said punters who won a small fortune were advised to give back to the community by buying some rice or biscuits for the poor and aged.

Ooi, 71, said a crowd of 20 people even braved the rain yesterday morning to hang red packets with their favourite 4-digit numbers. He added that he had been kept busy daily helping punters hang up their red packets on the tree.

It all started when retired cook Chuah Eng Lum, 60, had a dream of the Laughing Buddha in April. In the dream, he was told that luck was coming to Rifle Range and that he was to find a tree for the red packets.

Since then, many punters are said to have struck it rich after writing their favourite 4-digit numbers on red packets which were then strung on the tree.

4th report : Monday August 7, 2006

Ang pow tree draws bloggers

PENANG: The popularity of the fortune ang pow tree has attracted bloggers from Singapore and Sarawak. Factory engineer George Chang, 27, said his blogger friends from there wanted him to paste a picture of the tree on his blog.He went to Rifle Range flats yesterday to photograph the tree for the purpose.

“This tree has attracted a lot of attention and can be a tourist attraction,” he said.

Commenting on a Penang Municipal Council statement that those caught hanging red packets on the tree could be fined or jailed, Chang said:

“The people should be entitled to their own beliefs and not be penalised for it.”

Other residents shared Chang’s views.

“It’s just too harsh. The punters are not doing anything criminal. They are merely doing something to ask for good luck which makes them happy,” said a resident who wished to be known as Chuah. Chuah said he saw nothing wrong with the 4-digit punters hanging the red packets because they were not damaging or defacing the tree.

“As you can see, the area around the tree is also kept very clean and tidy. So how can the council say it is an offence,” he asked.

The council said that it was an offence under the Park By-laws 1993 for anyone to paste stickers, notices, banners, flags or advertisements on trees, walls, fences or buildings. The tree belonged to the council and was considered to be located within a park.

Petition writer B.S. Tan, 70, said food stalls and a nearby car park were enjoying brisk business as a result of hordes of people visiting the tree. It all started when retired cook Chuah Eng Lum, 60, had a dream in which he was told that luck was coming to Rifle Range and that he was to find a tree to hang red packets. Since then, many punters are said to have struck it rich after writing their favourite 4-digit numbers on red packets and stringing them on the tree.

5th report : Wednesday August 9, 2006

Punters target bark and leaves

PENANG: Punters being punters, they never give up hope. After being barred from hanging their ang pow packets with four-digit numbers on the controversial “lucky” tree at Rifle Range, they have now resorted to writing the numbers on the bark and leaves.

Yesterday, the Penang Municipal Council workers cleared the tree of hundreds of ang pows.
Almost immediately after that, punters could be seen scribbling their favourite 4-D numbers on tree barks and the leaves with pens and markers. Some continued to write the numbers on the ang pows and later placed them at the base of the tree.

“Rifle Range has become famous because of this tree and news have now reached more people after pictures of it had been posted on the Net.

“It's a Chinese tradition to gamble and it's not illegal,” protested resident Y.K. Lee, 60.

Factory supervisor Goh Soon Cheh, 50, said: “It's just a fun pastime for the old residents here.
“They help people to hang the numbers up without any charge and if the punters strike it big, these people come back to give a small reward to the residents out of their own free will.”

A council spokesman reiterated that it was an offence to deface trees, walls, pillars and buildings under its public cleanliness by-laws of 1980.