SHE was boss and mentor to everyone at Penang Island City Council (MBPP). But few had learned more from outgoing mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif than her successor, Yew Tung Seang.
Yew first met her during his internship at the council in the 1980s.
“She was a town planner when I joined as an officer on contract in 1991,” he said in his speech.
The mayor clocked out for the last time on Thursday, with about 100 staff members marching soberly behind her.
When the microphone was handed to Maimunah for her farewell speech, she broke into tears many times.
“I thought I would retire from here in 2022 at 60. Now you know my age,” she told everyone.
She advised Yew, who will be mayor from today, and Engineering director Addnan Mohd Razali, who takes over Yew’s old role as MBPP secretary, to work together closely.
Maimunah will leave for Nairobi, Kenya, to become executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.
The handover ceremony was held yesterday and Yew will be sworn in on Monday.
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