A Salute to Pat Lu and her 'Pahlawans'
by G. K. Lim
 

Something pretty exciting is happening in Malaysia. All because some private citizens decided that it's time they did something for the country -- without the help of politicians and big business.

If you are not Malaysian, please bear with me. This is a case study you can apply to your country as well.

It started innocently enough and without a bang when Pat Lu decided that she would publicly (and over the Internet) support Dr Mahathir for his efforts. She thought that perhaps it's time we gave the poor chap a break. Why keep on bashing Dr Mahathir, huh? That poor guy is already getting so much negative media attention around the world. And with this Anwar case going on -- goodness, this is not a good time for Dr M.

So Pat Lu decided to unabashedly tell the world that she supported Dr M because he's doing such a darn good job -- and many people are not appreciating that.

She asked "Partners" to help promote her cause -- we went along with her. No harm doing so. Dr M really needed support in his unpopular fight to save Malaysia from ruin.

So Pat Lu put up websites extolling the virtues of Dr M as a great leader. Of course, there are many others who helped her -- particularly Foong Wai Fong and Gerard Lim -- but since Pat was the one in contact with us, we mentioned her name often.

To cut the story short, Pat and her group thought that sending public love cyberletters to Dr M wasn't enough -- they had to do something solid to restore public confidence in the country's ability to recover from the ravages of a universal financial turmoil.

So they launched, with a whimper, "Visit Malaysia CyberCampaign and Think Holiday, Think Malaysia Competition." No self serving politicians in their midst. No big business, no big bucks. Just private citizens telling fellow Malaysians to send emails to their foreign friends inviting them to visit Malaysia. Target: 50 million emails by August 31st, 1999.

We're glad we at "Partners" supported them in their early efforts.

Talk about an idea who's time has come. Talk about right time, right place. Talk about being brave and taking risks!

The concept of asking Malaysians to send emails to their friends abroad to visit Malaysia is a stroke of genuis. An idea that's way, way out of this world.

Suddently, the politicians are waking up, sitting up, rubbing their eyes, and staring at Pat Lu and her "Pahlawans" and realizing how extremely useful that concept is to the country. And it doesn't cost much. Just some websites and some volunteers.

Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism Dato' Sri Sabbaruddin Chik calls Pat and asks, "Hey, can I help?" Pat says, "Sure, hop in." The Minister's in.

Big business phones Pat Lu, "Hey, can we help?" Pat says, "Sure, come on in!" Big business is in.

Now Dr Mahathir is also jumping onto the bandwagon and saying, "Hey, this is a brilliant idea." He's in.

The rest, as they say, is history.

So, dear readers, a simple idea, a simple ideal, can lead to a project of national importance.

To Partners readers who are Malaysians, click now to the campaign website [http://xtremedia.com/pahlawan/] or [http://www.pahlawan.com.my] and join in the great effort.

Support these private individuals who prove that they can do what politicans and big business cannot do.

To Partners readers who are from other countries, go to that site too. Maybe you can do similar things for your country. And visit Malaysia!

To Pat, we love you!! We are so happy for you because you have proven that one person can make a difference.
 

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