I had a dinner with a very well respected political leader two nights ago. I told him my thoughts on our people being given too much protection against competition, which is essentially the same thing that I wrote yesterday in “How about us?” . I mentioned that Malays can be world beaters if they are given a chance to compete like everyone else.
He told me a true story which I will relate here.
In one of his official visits to New York some time back, he was met at the airport by a smartly dressed Malay chauffeur driving a limousine to fetch him. In the car, he struck up a conversation with the Malay guy, and was surprised to learned that this Malay actually owns the limousine service that is fetching him. He came to the States many years back as an ‘illegal’, worked diligently and operated small businesses and ultimately, his status was legalised and he expanded his business and became the owner of many limousines. He also had many people, mainly immigrants from all over the world , working for him. He came personally to fetch the VIP because of his respect for the politician and because the VIP is from Malaysia.
This story tells us that even a not so highly educated Malay can make it on his own in one of the most competitive places in the world, the Big Apple. He did not get any clutches; he worked his way through hardship and ultimately he succeeded and achieved his “American” or shall we say “Malaysian” dream.
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