"I WANT TO MARRY MY GIRLFRIEND…"

A good cause to win RM50,000 @ freedom2talk.org?

PETALING JAYA, 3 June 2009 – Tune Talk's pre-launch campaign at freedom2talk.org has received overwhelming response with about 50 'candidates' signing up to be the Chief Talker who will walk away with RM50,000, while another 10,000 have registered to be 'voters' and are in the running to win RM10,000.

Top on the candidate list is Poesy Liang who founded Helping Angels, an online-based volunteer network with over 1,000 members globally. Should she win, Poesy said the proceeds will go towards funding Helping Angels' activities. "The group seeks to promote the donation of time and efforts, placing least importance to the giving of material and monetary sponsorship. The objective is to motivate career professionals to use their wisdom, influence, skills and time resources to help others," said Poesy of Helping Angels. Poesy was also the first weekly winner of RM200 worth of AirAsia e-Gift Voucher.

Norman Rahman, another popular candidate, was elected the second weekly winner. "I want to raise money for the orphans. I am also riding solo to Cape Town in 2010 to realise this cause," said Norman, who has slid from his second overall position to the third currently.

Norman was overtaken by the third weekly winner, Tim Fernandez who promotes "Live & Inspire", an online magazine on personal growth.

Most candidates are resorting to online campaigning via the blog, email and social networks Facebook and Twitter.
Other notable causes include Nur Hamidi Baharuddin's "Kulim to Kiulu", a fund-raising project to help build a hostel for rural students in Sabah. While Amuthesan Rajaratnam and Parimalawani Muthiah are campaigning for dogs' welfare, Nik Mohamad Hafidz wants to save the cats.

However, an unusual submission came from Mohd Khairul Mohd Zain who says: "I want to marry my girlfriend and give her a better life." He also says he wants to help his parents.

Tune Talk CEO Jason Lo says: "The response has been so encouraging, it was totally unexpected! You can see candidates putting forward all kinds of causes and they make a really interesting read. As much as I hope Poesy or other candidates with welfare projects win, to see Mohd Khairul realising his dream of marrying his girlfriend would be just as gratifying."

Himself running as a candidate, Jason has enlisted "Music for Poor Kids" as his cause, but explained that by virtue of being a Tune Talk executive, he is disqualified from the 'election'. "I am just joining in the fun and hoping to attract more people to sign up."

Voters have up until Tune Talk’s commercial service launch to exercise their rights. "This is a democratic process and it is up to you to decide and vote for the Chief Talker," said Jason.

Apart from the Chief Talker, others who sign up to vote and invite their friends to register will stand to win RM10,000. The member with the highest number of successful registered friends will be selected as winner.

Tune Talk is set to be the newest mobile operator in the country, operating as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on Celcom’s network. Commercial service launch is slated for the second half of the year.

For more information, visit http://freedom2talk.org.