Have You Heard of the term “Duit Kutu”?
SharePosted on 04. May, 2009 by Gallivanter in Life
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How many of you heard of this term, “Duit Kutu”? It was a really infamous concept in the earlier days, especially before the 90s. The concept is simple, assemble a group of “trustworthy” people, people you know, and then, commit to a monthly amount per month.
The histrionics of it is that the first month’s collection goes to the person who needs it the most, though I’m not sure of the full concept of the selection process, but I heard about that part.
Let’s say I’m part of a group of 30 pax, and each is suppose to give RM200 per month, and if I’m the first receiver of the amount, I would get RM6000. And then I continue to pay the amount for 30 months until my turn comes again.
The major drawback of this is when a number of people do not pay up, especially those who collected the amount earlier. For example, after I get the RM6000, I stop paying after a couple of months, and leave my neighborhood.
It’s not something that you can go to the police with, as duit kutu is considered something illegal. Those days, it baffles me how people trust each other easily. These days, it’s a totally different ballgame, we don’t even trust banks!
Let’s say you’re approached by your bestest buddy in the whole wide world, asking you to join this scheme, and he vouches for the other 10 people, would you? And let’s say that you really need the money, would you?
By the way, anyone know how the term “duit kutu” came about, why is money linked with ticks? Anyone?
bosscat
May 4th, 2009
ohhhh…. yeah…. it’s kind of famous in the kampung places… i was asked once… but never really understood how it works..
bosscat
May 4th, 2009
ohhhh…. yeah…. it’s kind of famous in the kampung places… i was asked once to participate… but never really understood how it works..
Amy C
May 4th, 2009
ooooh me n the colleagues just started this duit kutu or in chinese ‘hui’ this end of month…but we played it small, RM50 per person for 25 ppl! @_@…luckily i will get it on october this year…
everntho its small but enuff to treat for myself and bf for birthdays in november 2009 XD……
charlenediane
May 4th, 2009
I never trust anyone with my finances except my personal banker
Then again, there are only about 2 people who I call friends who I know I can trust with my life, so that would pretty much answer your question.
Just
May 4th, 2009
When I was a kid, mom and aunt often mentioned this ‘hui’ term that I never understand until this term of ‘duit kutu’ came from a colleague.
Hubby and colleagues started the ‘game’ last 2 mths. RM100 for 6 ppl only. He prefers to be last person in the game. Paid first, get money and dont bother to pay anymore. Heheheh…
Btw, ‘hui’ can be in terms of money as well as product such as kitchen appliance, house deco item, etc that equivalent to the total money collected from all members..
gracie
May 4th, 2009
malay term= tarik-tarikan
Nick Phillips
May 4th, 2009
My mom was in this scheme back in the old days.
No, I most definitely would not join it these days even if my bestest buddy came to me with a sign letter from God himself!
Back in the old days, people respected one another and the term cheating was a bad word unlike the scums we have today.
chegu carol
May 4th, 2009
im on it now.
so far so good.
i’ll be getting mine in July.
Pinknpurplelizard
May 4th, 2009
Hmmm… If you got excess $$$ then it should be alright coz chances of someone running off with the first few payments are high in this country. Ppl are willing to cheat for a few dollars so what more about few hundred or thousand?
Dunno la why they call it duit kutu. Maybe the guy who started it was called kutu. LOL
Vienne
May 4th, 2009
it cant be done with a lot of people..10 person is the max is better..and the people who join this must be person u can always see and can betrusted… this year is the second year i join..last year, xda pula masalah xda mo bayaar, lambat bayar adalah…
zyrin
May 4th, 2009
i have no idea how the term ‘duit kutu’ came about… but i’ve been involved in more than 5 kutu groups, and so far no one’s run away yet – so far, so good!
i guess it depends on how well you know the other group members, the amount involved, and how organized (or ferocious! hehe) the ‘mak kutu’ – the person who collects the money every month and started the kutu in the first place – is.
AngelBear
May 4th, 2009
well..i joined this once..just 10 of us for rm100 just to try it out..hahahaha…
cicak
May 4th, 2009
This can be done among trusted colleagues. It has been a long time since I was in one.
TerraShield
May 4th, 2009
I did some research on the web for you and found that the word is also known as ‘kootu’ and is derived from a Tamil word that means get together.
http://eprints.uum.edu.my/791/1/UTILIZATION_OF_KOOTU_AMONG_WOMEN_MICROENTREPRENEURS.pdf
emelda
May 4th, 2009
I might do it if i really trust the group..but if there’s one person that i dont trust in the group..i will definitely not do it…saynag duit saja.
JL
May 4th, 2009
Honestly never heard of it until now, and I could never trust such a concept anyway.
foongpc
May 4th, 2009
I joined this type of duit kutu schemes before but it is slightly different and they call it “gifting”.
I earned RM16K within one month, and I only paid RM200 to start with. Quite a good money earner, but I regretted it later when problems set in. Lost my RM16K after that!
It was all the rage 8-10 years back. You get invited to dinners and they talk to you about the scheme. It’s free dinner so a lot of people don’t mind going. I heard of people who earned RM64K within a week. More like a get rich quick scheme to me!
But if done the traditional way, and you trust everyone in your group, should be a viable thing, only thing is do you trust anyone?
eLSa
May 4th, 2009
i’m on it now too…last month was my turn. just RM50-100…we do called it “TARIKAN”…not just money but Kitchen appliances too…the periuk belanga etc…
Miss Mathew
May 4th, 2009
I was a participant of ths scheme whn I was still teaching in school, rm150 per mnth. WAIT! Diut kutu? meaning we are the ‘kutu’ ah? ahaks!
cicak
May 4th, 2009
foong!
What the… RM16k! and 64k!
I can’t imagine ‘kutu-ing’ to that extent. Gila oh!
deana
May 4th, 2009
‘why is money linked with ticks? ‘ …lol..may be they thought about that idea while searching for ticks??
Christopher
May 4th, 2009
Heard that was quite popular in the past …. another kind of get rich scheme..i guess.
tekkaus
May 5th, 2009
perhaps money is linked with ticks because…I don’t know. Anyway…to be honest I have never heard about it before.
Gallivanter
May 5th, 2009
OK, I didn’t have time to get back to this post, and there are too many comments for me to reply. I just wanna say thank you all for sharing. Now, let’s start a kutu amongst ourselves, we start with RM500 with me being the first person, can?
Cyril Dason
May 6th, 2009
i think my mum calls it ‘hui’…
Gallivanter
May 7th, 2009
Cyril Dason – Hmmm, I never heard of that term.
earl-ku
Jun 10th, 2009
the trend with the chinese is that the first person who takes it are normally those who are desperate and need money immediately (emergencies, hospitalization, gambling, ah long)
so the first person who takes it gets the elss, say total pool is 1000, she gets less maybe 800, the extras are place onto the last few pools, as those who gets it last will get the most as they waited the longest … more like interests to them …