Thursday, November 19, 2009

Luncheon with the minister

Yesterday I had the privilege to have lunch with a minister who I admire her for her strong spirit yet remains very much a lady. She is one of two ladies, the other one being Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, in the Malaysian political world who I always find very inspirational and an epitome of women successful in a world dominated by men.

No, no, no, I have no plans to go into politics. Not in my wildest dreams! LOL! But these two women have proven that you can be successful in anything that you aspire to be for as long as you are willing to work hard.

Knowing the right people and being at the right place at the right time is only a bonus to being where they are now. Forget about the fact that Tan Sri Rafidah is no longer in the current political line-up, but, she has been at the top before and that says a lot about her spirits.

The lady whom I am referring to is Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister for Women, Family and Community Development.

Yes! I had the privilege to have lunch with her yesterday at her office after a meeting to brief her on a project that I am in charge of.

The food was great! Well, what do you expect when lunch was for a minister! LOL!

Having lunch with the minister is already a privilege which I will always treasure and be noted in my book of Moments to Treasure (not that I actually keep such a book! LOL!), but what made the meeting and luncheon more memorable and sweeter was the fact that she was actually my dad’s student in college!

She knew nothing about my back ground when we were first introduced, but while having lunch, a lady from the Pahang Royal family joined us and the minute I was introduced to her and upon hearing my last name, her first question to me was if by any chance I could be related to a Dato’ Nik Abdul Rashid. When I answered that he is my dad, Datuk Seri Sharizat screamed in excitement! LOL!

She scolded me for not telling me who I am earlier, but I told her that I am `segan’ and not in the habit of telling people who my dad is for fear of being wrongly assumed. She said that she has to give a hug to the daughter of a man she admired as she was my dad’s law student in University Malaya.

Can you imagine getting a great big warm hug from a minister? *blush* She made my day and I think I went back to the office smiling from ear to ear! LOL!

Oh, by the way, I did not have lunch with her alone but also with a group of ladies from an NGO doing charity works. They all came smelling very nice, hair dyed almost blond and dressed very stylishly.

Whereas my officer and I, on the other hand, were dressed in pants and jacket, though I must say that we still looked very professional. *wink* Well, we did go for the meeting to give our professional advice and not to socialize. *grin*

My officer commented that they looked like as if they had just stepped out of the spa. Well, what do you expect when they are mostly Tengkus and Datuks who have all the time in the world – ladies of leisure. We, on the other hand, came straight from a site meeting!

Can you imagine the contrasting sight? LOL! *grin*

Ma, Datuk Seri Shahrizat sends you her regards and she said that she remembers you as always being young looking and sexy. :)

I think Datuk Seri Shahrizat just made my mum’s day too! LOL! *wink*

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