I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of a country that consistently promotes itself as Truly Asia, not just in tourism, but in everything that it is, in effect as the microcosm of everything about this continent we are truly blessed to call ours.
My trip was with two other Cebu journalists accredited for the Pacquiao-Mathysse fight, Manny Villaruel of this paper and Ric Gabuya of CDN, and our sincerest thanks and gratitude go to Chester Cokaliong and his family, avid Pacquiao fans all, for sharing everything else in the trip with them.
The first inkling I got that there was a sense of order and discipline in Malaysia was during our approach for landing at KL International. There below us, as far as the eyes can see, were neat and tight rows upon rows of palm trees, the cooking oil half of the country’s multi-billion oil industry, the other half of course being petrol.
When we left Cebu, our hearts throbbed with pride at Mactan-Cebu International Airport’s brand-new Terminal 2, which we thought was truly world-class, until we landed at KL and came abruptly back down to earth. Then there was the 70 km one-hour ride from KLIA to KL city center on one of the smoothest, widest, cleanest and most organized and continuous road networks ever.
As the visit was brief, we only got to see the developed, progressive, and highly cosmopolitan side of the country. But if the brief snatches of life that we experienced can speak for the country and its people, then I must say Truly Asia is a most appropriate slogan a country can honor itself with.
One particular experience stands out which I will cherish forever and which changed my outlook toward certain people. After the fight, we realized how difficult it was to get a taxi from where we were as the sports complex of which the Axiata Arena was just a small portion of had been closed for the security of PM Mahathir and his guest, a certain PRRD. Both watched the fight.
In despair we asked for directions from a woman and her husband who had sold out all their stuff in a food truck and were closing up. The woman offered to hail Grab ride for us as none of us had the app. But the ride took too long in coming due to the post-fight traffic. So we decided to move farther up the road to try and meet up with the car, its make and plates in mind.
Apparently, the woman kept us in sight. When she saw the car still had not come, she came after us, very apologetic, and perhaps embarrassed for her country. She stayed with us for more than 30 minutes, every now and then calling the driver for updates until he finally came. She left after shyly accepting our thanks. She was Muslim. More than that, she was Truly Asian.