One night at the Mines

Last night, at round 9pm, I walked into the Mines Exhibition Hall to visit the chinese book fair. Just as I entered the main entrance, a middle-aged guy with a big belly, dressed in a white shirt, was walking slowly infront of me. One young guy carrying a walkie-talkie pointed to a big banner hung high up near the ceiling, and the middle-aged guy looked upward. These two men exchanged some conversations, inaudible to me.

I wasn't going anywhere. I stood near them and observed them. That big-belly guy is Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the Founder & President of The Mines Resort City empire.

What suprised me immediately was the lack of security. I looked around hunting for edgy men with bullet-proof vest or muscular guys with stern looks, but none was found. The young guy with a walkie-talkie was the only person that accompanied him.

One may argue that this is Mines, his own territory. If you are stupid enough to fuck with him in any way, you will not be able to walk out of the Mines. However, this is in strong contrast when Tan Sri Lim Kok Tay is in his own territory - Genting Highland. He will be surrounded by security people, a long list of Senior Vice Presidents of different units. You would not expect Lim to walk around the Theme Park with just one guy tailing him.

So after a while, Lee picked up a few books and carried them in his hands. One of the books carried a chinese title - "Grow your English in ...". I couldn't see the last few words. So this guy, with 10 billion-asset, could do everything he wants, but he probably can't do this : Speak and write good English.

What suprised me most is this : None of the public visitors recognized this guy. The irony is this, some guys were even browsing the books of the theme of "How to get a job.." near Lee, but in fact, all they need to do, is to have some basic knowledge, recognize this guy, walk-up to him, get into a little conversation that impresses him, and who knows, it might change their destiny immediately.