IF His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had his way, his maiden speech when opening the new Parliament session last week would have been much shorter. With the rigmarole of formalities and salutations, and background information with statistics, it dragged on a little longer than scripted.
But it was certainly a drastic departure from the approach of previous Kings, who preferred longer speeches, albeit mundane ones.
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Wong Chun Wai
Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer. On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.