An Article in the Sunday STAR

Sunday May 17, 2009

Behind every great man...

Teachers nurture the leaders of tomorrow. But the leaders of today can attest to the fact that teachers have made them who they are.

Life’s lessons

By ALYCIA LIM

Doing it the right way

ONE of the lessons from school which has stayed with Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is to do things the right way.

“I learnt that winning or losing (the game) was not important, it was to have the right technique.

“This is what I learnt from my basketball coach, Mr Liew Yong Choon,” adds the former Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) student.

At the time, he shares that Liew was a senior police officer at Bukit Aman, and would head back to his hometown of Kuala Kangsar every weekend and voluntarily coach MCKK students in basketball.

“During tournament time, he would take leave and accompany us for the games and treat the team too,” shares Saifuddin who played for the school team.

There was an instance when he scored a point during a game but he was scolded by Liew as his technique was wrong.

“Mr Liew always emphasised how important the fundamentals are and to be passionate about what we do.

“The best part is that he is now coaching my daughter, Madihah, who is in Tunku Kurshiah College,” he adds.

Saifuddin says Mr Liew also placed an emphasis on academic matters, and would not let players continue with basketball until they passed their examinations.

“It is usually the other way around where students do well in the game and not so well with their studies but Mr Liew would personally give us extra tuition to ensure his players did well in both areas so that as a result of basketball, we did well in our examinations,” he adds.

My SMS reply:

Just read 'Doing it the right way'! Really touched by YB Dato's open and public compliments accorded to me. Indeed, this is the most meaningful present or rather the best reward for me for being the 'coach, sifu and teacher' of a rising political star in my beloved country. Really impress with your positive attitude and I'm proud of YB Dato for being stayed with the ' lesson' namely 'to do things the right way'! A star with its twinkling light will always attract the admiration of million eyes. And YB Dato, you are certainly one of these sparkling stars that I'll ever cherish, admire and always be proud of!

Regards

Liew YC