A friend in Penanti Penang...

Dr Mansor Othman. Yes I know him. He was studying at Yale and I was studying at New Haven. But his and my university share the same city in New Haven, Connecticut. Since he is the only Malaysian studying at Yale at that time, I have a kind of feeling that this man one day would be somebody. My family celebrates Hari Raya at his apartment and were considered a family friend. Dr Mansor is a quiet and unassuming man but seems to be thoughtful. That is my impression of him. At that time he has only son and my sons called him Aly. His wife, Kak Chah, a former nurse, does all the talking and the cooking. And Dr Mansor does the thinking. Anyway, they were very friendly and expressed gratefulness for celebrating Hari Raya with them at their New Haven downtown apartment.

In terms of politics, Dr Mansor did not tell and reveal much except when I and two others follow him to IOWA university because he has to present a paper pertaining to "Bumiputera opportunities in Malaysia. " In fact the paper he has been presenting was still kept by me till today.

Back at Malaysia, he did try to contact me but I was not at home at that time. Then the news in him being the political secretary to Anwar Ibrahim, a keadilan chairman in Pulau Pinang, and he lost the general election by a narrow margin in 2008. I would have guess if he had won, Pulau Pinang would not have Deputy Chief Minister in Fairus but him. But the by-election in Penanti has brought a new lease of life to him. I could not imagine the joy in Kak Chah's face knowing her husband has finally won an election! Should I be proud of him? Personally, a person who has come into my life surely I would congratulate him for making good his studies at Yale and now the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. I am happy for him and if I were to go to Penang I know I have a friend. But that was at Yale and New Haven. What about a friend in the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang? I don't know. Haven't met him yet.