The fine looking young man in the picture is my student, Wong Ming Shen. He is one of the debaters who took part in the Inter Technical School Debate which was held this weekend in Ipoh. In the picture he is holding a red packet or lai see which his mum gave to him for good luck in the debate. He told me that inside the packet was RM 88.88. This is something that quite a number of Chinese ladies would do every time the young ones in the family set out on a venture. This is an act of well wishing and blessing for the receiver from the giver. In Ming Shen's case, he was representing the school for debate and his mother's lai see was to wish him success. Besides Chinese New Year, birthdays and weddings, other occasions where one will get a lai see are when one travels abroad, one embarks on a career or when one begins school, college or university. The word "lai see" means good luck in Cantonese.
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