The moment that my friends and I were waiting for, finally arrived. We have been waiting since last week to attend a public lecture by our honourable former Prime Minister Y.A.Bhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, who is also the UTP's Chancellor. The one hour lecture was on "National Identity & Power Sharing".
The Chancellor Hall was totally full with crowd. When we arrived, there were no seat left at the top floor of the hall. Quite frustrating at that time as we thought of loosing the chance to listen to his speech. Fortunately, the usher asked us to enter the hall and fill up all the empty seats at one island. We soon realized that the island was for lecturers and staff. =)
The Chancellor Hall was totally full with crowd. When we arrived, there were no seat left at the top floor of the hall. Quite frustrating at that time as we thought of loosing the chance to listen to his speech. Fortunately, the usher asked us to enter the hall and fill up all the empty seats at one island. We soon realized that the island was for lecturers and staff. =)
Mainly in the speech delivered, he emphasized on our Malaysia current situations in term of politics, economics and social. He even made several comparisons with other countries situations. He also discussed the possibilities of creating national identity, how the word 'Malaysian' does really give impact to all races as it is worldly known that Malaysia is a multiracial country.
The floor was then opened for Q & A session. Due to the overwhelming responses from some of the audiences who would like to ask him questions, the session was extended from half an hour to almost one hour. I personally admired the coolness of him answering all those questions that he even remember the exact year and figure of what particular events or incidents he was talking about. Some points of the questions that I managed to capture:
The floor was then opened for Q & A session. Due to the overwhelming responses from some of the audiences who would like to ask him questions, the session was extended from half an hour to almost one hour. I personally admired the coolness of him answering all those questions that he even remember the exact year and figure of what particular events or incidents he was talking about. Some points of the questions that I managed to capture:
- the existing of vernacular school that may hinder unity which is important to create national identity
- the Malays are now represented by various parties, not only UMNO, which shows less unity among the Malays itself as it makes Malays become weaker and weaker (Tun answered that almost all leaders now are thinking more of how they could get a better position in politics rather than thinking of how to improve the Malays condition that are far left behind compared to other races in Malaysia)
- the Malays' tolerance to other races (regarding the issue of apologizing that the Malays are always to be blamed when something wrong happens)
- social justice and social equality
- the relevant of practicing Internal Security Act (ISA) in Malaysia
- criteria of being a leader
- what does Malaysia meant to him
- how was his Raya celebration
The most unforgettable moment was I got the lucky chance to shake hands with Tun. *happy* =D
Tun with UTP's Rector at the entrance doorFeel free to click on this link for the article of UTP by Tun. [UTP]
6 butterflies:
dah grad nanti boleh salam lagi... hehe.. doakan la umur dia panjang.
hehehehe....best Tun yg bg hari tu...dari jauh dia dah senyum.rasa mcm dihargai je..
tau dia nak speech masa tu..terasa mcm nak pegi terbang kat utp je..nk pi dengar speech dia.huhuhu
tak pernah busan bila Tun mule berkata-kata.
lagi-lagi bila dia menjadi sungguh sinikal.
and he's not afraid to be bold; because he trusts what he believes in.
p.s - adik diyana, i really think you have talent in writing in english. keep it up :)
abg ashkam,
insyaAllah...semoga umur dia panjang smpai diyana grad lg 2 thun stgh.. =)
kak ina,
bla Tun senyum pn dh rasa bangga kta dpt jumpa n salam dia personally, kan? *nice* =)
kak chuna,
yes, mmg btul bla Tun bicara sinis, msa tu kta mula menilai benar atau tak perkara tu..kan?
and when he is being sinikal in the speech, the crowd never miss to give him a really big applause.. ;)
p/s: thanx kak chuna. me too, personally admire the way you write, both in Malay n emglish~ =)
"The most unforgettable moment was I got the lucky chance to shake hands with Tun. *happy* =D"
cis cemburunya! tak dpt nak salam dgn Tun, crowded sgt, sempat jerit je "Tun..u rock!!" haha
at least, smpat jerit pun jd la...hehe~
unexpected kot dpt salam dgn Tun ~(^_^)~