Minister My Friend

Got invited to the Launch of the Focus Group Discussion Series at Sheraton Towers. Theme for this part of the Community Leaders' Forum is Globalisation. One of my personal favourites. So the whole presentation of the Thinkpiece wasn't too bad. Just that it was not as inspiring as I had hoped it'd be. But good start I'd say. I mean this whole thing would be a good platform for us all to take one step back so as to take three steps forward (I wanted to say this to the media but it just slipped my mind!). Speaking of the media, I really hadn't expected to be interviewed by the radio people. I mean, so far, I've only been engaged by the print media and that means I have a lot of room to think and generate ideas before they actually become a story, which is largely determined by how the journalist sieves the information I provide (usually distorted anyway). But this time round, no distortion but like, REAL TIME baby!! Whatever I say is recorded in that few minutes and what I say is really what listeners get! There's no blaming the media for twisting my words (which happens a lot for print). And of course the whole striking difference is I have to speak in Malay entirely! I mean, that's cos I'll be aired on the national malay radio channel. My first time hearing myself aired. (Have always heard my dad when I was much younger.)

So after, or was it before, the whole media thing, the minister came over and said, "Hey, where have we met?" And I'm like "Well, the last time we met, you said the exact same thing." (Which is true. Not a counter pick up line. Haha.) And so we had a good chat. In the presence of my self-nominated personal assistant Nafisah Zakariah (whom the minister was convinced was Chinese), my cousin and his colleague from the press. So Minister was agreeing with my views on the whole liberal culture Singaporeans lack (as opposed to our American counterparts). That aside, we joked about different careers and in the presence of journalists, put them down. Haha it was quite funny. We talked about to not become a syariah lawyer cos you'll end up facing Muslim divorces everyday, not an Islamic banker cos it's boring and etc. Then talked about various other issues, and ended off: When I retire and YOU are in my position, you'll understand.

Hoho, no pressure there, Minister Sir. My brother who was also somewhere in the function, eyed jealously for not having been invited to the conversation. Haha. Apologies, Abang. He was like: That was a long and hearty conversation you had with the minister. Haha. But we did create some furore there. But no one could stop us. He's the minister after all. I want to nominate him as my personal mentor. How do I do that man.