Hungry Ghosts At Press Briefing Buffet

One of the things I get to do, working for a magazine, is to get invited to press briefings hosted by various companies listed on the Singapore Exchange.

When these companies announce their results, they are required to hold press briefings. The generous ones like Banyan Tree Holdings, Qian Hu Corp, etc. would throw in either a sumptuous lunch buffet or dinner buffet at the briefings. The cheapskate, stingy ones (usually foreign ones) would even deprive the press of tea and coffee.

When a decent feast is thrown in, if the briefing is not meant only for just the analysts, shareholders in their 60s and 70s would attack the feast like hungry ghosts. No need to wait for the Lunar 7th Month for hungry ghosts to roam the earth. These uncles and aunties would whack down all these free food and even blatantly “ta pau” home to eat some more later.

When I see these hungry ghost uncles and aunties in full force action, I lose my appetite. They don’t attend the briefings to listen to what the directors have got to say. They only attend the briefings for the food. Immediately after the briefing, they would swarm to the food like bees and vultures. Some of them don’t even bother to queue up properly. They would grab as much as food as they can and wolf down the food like wild boars. All proper courtesy and etiquette are thrown out the window. Nevermind the food served may be classy and the venue may be a classy hotel.