(Disclaimer: this was written in conjuction with Tun M’s 100th birthday on 10th July 2025. Happiest birthday, Tun!)
I turn 38 this year.
I’m at that stage in life where I juggle deadlines, daycare pickups, and Teams meetings across time zones. And lately, in between all that, I’ve been thinking about how I got here.
One name keeps coming to mind: Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
Growing up in the 90s, his name was everywhere. I didn’t really understand what he did back then, only that he was always on the news, and my parents would switch to the serious voice whenever his name came up.
And somewhere along the way, one of his ideas - the Look East Policy - quietly shaped the life I would one day live.
That policy encouraged Malaysians to learn from countries like Japan, to adopt values like discipline, hard work, and humility. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I just knew that I’d watch Japanese dramas on TV and that my sister’s dream is to go to Japan one day. But now, here I am: a Malaysian, raising a family and building a career in Japan. Every day I see firsthand the values that policy promoted. And I can’t help but feel…connected. Like maybe I’m a tiny result of that big vision.
There’s one day I’ll never forget - the day I got the phone call telling me I received the scholarship to further my degree in Japan. That phone call changed everything. In that one moment, my path shifted. What was once just a faraway dream suddenly became real. Japan wasn’t just a country I read about in Sejarah textbooks, it became the place where I’d study, grow, find myself, and unknowingly begin a life that’s still unfolding.
I no longer see Tun with the same wide-eyed awe I had as a kid. These days, I look at his legacy with a different kind of admiration - the kind that comes with age and after surviving multiple project timelines. Because now I know just how hard it is to build something that lasts. To think not just about yourself, but an entire country. To decide that “Yes, Malaysia can have its own car brand,” and “Yes, let’s build a brand new administrative capital” while I still hesitate to build a new bookshelf without my husband’s help.
And now that I’ve come this far, I find myself asking: How can I do the same?
How can I give back to Malaysia in my own small, spreadsheet-and-slide-deck kind of way?
How do I leave something behind - not just reports and presentations, but actual impact?
I don’t usually write about public figures. But I guess this isn’t really about politics. It’s about gratitude, and maybe also responsibility.
Because thanks to that vision, I grew up in a Malaysia that was full of hope. I was raised to believe I could go far if I worked hard (and maybe memorized enough kanji and hiragana). That it was okay to dream a little bigger, even if I didn’t quite know what the dream was yet.
And now, as a woman in her late 30s, navigating career and motherhood, I carry that same hope forward. Not just for me, but for those who come after me, too.
(In picture: me with my eldest sister who dreamt about going to Japan since she was in high school, sending me off to Japan to do my engineering degree for 4 years)
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