Reminiscing of things past..

Just once, just once in life I thought I will try the experience of sending our then Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, off on an over sea’s trip. If I remembered correctly he was leaving for Italy with Jean and her two daughters. Our usual suspects informed us that on the very evening that Pak Lah was leaving he had two engagements  - one a wedding at a hotel in town – and the other a Family gathering at Pan Pacific Hotel – celebrating the birthday of Kamal’s mother in law.

 

We had to see him on a ‘business matter’ so we stationed ourselves at top of the escalator that he would have to take to get to the private room where the function was being held. At about 9pm we heard the siren as his car neared Pan Pac and soon his Perdana pulled up and he stepped out alone.

 

As he walked towards the escalator a crowd engulfed him. Coming up the escalator he saw us – a smile from him for us and as he arrived at the top of the escalator the four of us closed in around him, one of us put his arm around Pak Lah and walked the 90 seconds to the function room with Pak Lah in a bear hug  - and in that 90 second said what we wanted to say to him. He nodded and said, “The project is yours” or words to that effect – because in the mad rush around him I only saw his head nodding and heard the words “ I thought it was already yours”.

 

Pak Lah was at the private function just 10 minutes and then he was off again heading either for Sri Perdana or for the airport.

 

We got into our car and headed for the Air Force base – telling each other that “the project is ours” and that all we needed to do at the airport was to get his scribble and signature on our business proposal letter and we are done. …something to the effect of “Saya Setuju” and his signature!

 

Arriving at the airport I could see that it was already overflowing with those who had come to pay homage to the PM, those that had to be there because it was expected of them, and those like us, had our own reasons for being there. As we walked to the tarmac we greeted familiar faces – this Minister and that Politicians with an easy manner that said that ‘we are the in crowd’.

 

Fifteen minutes after we arrived Najib and Rosmah arrived. Jean was already at the airport. We saw Rosmah greeting Jean like long lost friends – ahhh the artificiality of it all. But then Jean was the First Lady then. Ten minutes later Pak Lah arrived. The crowd stirred and everybody tried to get a vantage point as close to the path that Pak Lah would take on his way to the Private Jet taking him on the journey.

 

Within minutes we saw the VIP door open and Pak Lah, Jean and her two daughters emerged and started their walk to the Plane. It was drizzling and they had umbrellas. Najib followed Pak Lah and they walked slowly past the crowd saying their goodbyes to the faithful. I managed a salam with Pak Lah and I thought I heard him say to me “You are here too”…I thought I did or was it my imagination?

 

So the main party under umbrella – Pak Lah and Family, Najib and Rosmah walked towards the plane. Then to our amusement Khir Toya was looking for an umbrella too because he wanted to walk with the main party to the plane. Nobody provided him with one – but that did not stop him. He walked in the rain, sans umbrella, just to be with the main party – whether invited or not. A chuckle here and a chuckle there – some murmurings mocking his need to be in close proximity with Najib and Pak Lah…was heard rippling through the crowd.

 

And then it was all over. We headed towards our cars, went through security and headed for KL…well actually to the Pan Pac coffee house for another coffee to reminisce on the happenings of the night. In all the excitement we had forgotten to get his signature and ‘saya setuju’ on our proposal letter! There was talk that night about one of us taking a flight to Italy to meet with Pak Lah there and get the necessary done – but that was all it was …just talk.