Have you seen a Chief Minister sit in Economy Class? I have.

As Ning and I were lining up to board our flight to Penang on Wednesday afternoon, I spotted a familiar face standing in front of us in the queue. So I whispered to Ning.

Me: Look in front of us. It's Guan Eng.

Ning: Who?

Me: YAB Mr. Lim Guan Eng, the Chief Minister of Penang.

Ning: No lah.

Me: Yes lah! I know how he looks lah. It's the CM lah.

Ning: Takkan CM jalan sorang sorang. If he's the CM, where's the bodyguards and the officers and the rombongan and kaum kerabat?

Me: Tak percaya? Watch and learn.

So I walked up to Yang Amat Berhormat, introduced myself and asked to take a picture. He smiled and obliged.

YAB CM: Hey, I know you! You're Ning Baizura!

Ning: YAB Lim, good afternoon.

YAB CM: Come, come, we take a picture. Vernon, here's my card. Email me the pictures OK.

Me: Definitely, sir.

Ambik kau. CM pun peminat katanya!



Ning and I really felt honoured. But we felt more surprised that the Chief Minister of a state was travelling all by himself like any normal rakyat jelata. But the biggest surprise in store for us was yet to come.

As usual, we sat in First Class. I expected the CM to be seated somewhere in front of us but then I realised he wasn't in First Class. Where did he disappear to???

I popped my head round the curtain that veils First Class and Economy Class and guess who I saw sitting in the front row seat of Economy quietly reading the newspapers?



YAB Mr. Lim, you have my deepest respect. You have made history by being the first Chief Minister in this country to sit in Economy Class whilst in office as Chief Minister. You really mean what you say when you talk about cost-cutting. Sir, you have shown me leadership by example.

Of course I asked permission to take his picture sitting in Economy and he laughed. And I said I'd blogged about it and he laughed some more, and gave permission. Ketua Menteri yang berjiwa rakyat.

Ning was in Penang on Wednesday for a Secretaries' Week show at Berjaya George Town Hotel, themed 'A Batik Evening With Ning'.



The entire ballroom was decorated with batik, right down to the table cloths and napkins and everybody wore batik.



Of course, no one remembered to tell us about the batik theme, and so it wasn't Ning's fault that she only packed a brocade silk outfit.



Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Datin Seri Majimor Bt. Shariff, wife of the Governor of Penang, was the Guest Of Honour.



After the show, we were famished. So we went to our favourite spot in Penang.

Mamak: Line clear, Ning?

Ning: Line clear, mamak!

Me: Shah, hang orang Penang kan? Apa kata Shah order apa yang patut. Jangan lupa telur ikan OK! Udang jugak. Kita lapar gila babas!

Shah: OK, Mr. Vernon!

This is Sim Bee, a lawyer and a staunch fan living in Penang. Sim Bee very kindly drove us from the hotel to Line Clear in her new four wheel drive!



You might remember Sim Bee from this picture taken on the 31st of January at the Bangsar Mosque :-)



And take a closer look at the guy dressed in pink. Yes, that's Shah, also a huge fan of Ning from Penang. You should check out his blog.



We ate and gossiped and laughed and basically had a good time!



Ning had the roti telur instead of rice. Diet katanya... walaupun satu pinggan ayam goreng habis dibelasah. Lariiii!!!



This was my plate. Telur ikan (my favourite), ayam goreng (out of this world), udang (the size of a baby's arm) and crunchy spiced vegetables. This is REAL food.



And my usual two glasses of iced lemon tea.



Dear Gentle Reader, over 80 of you hollered back and left comments at my previous posting. So sweet. Thank you, guys. Some of you wanted to remain anonymous, and that's OK with me. Please, don't feel shy to leave a comment in any of the posts from now on OK. Macam biasa, comments are all moderated and I'll approve them when I wake up and go online. (Seperti biasa, kehadiran seekor dua lalat buat kacau and I deleted those pests. Why do haters bother to come here and read and then leave nasty comments? Kalau tak suka, jangan masuk dan baca. Tapi, tetap jugak nak masuk dan baca, pastu nak kencing. Get a life and go buzz somewhere else, smelly flies!)

I'm glad that the girls I took pictures with at JW Marriott are delighted that their pics appeared on this blog and you know what? As of today, I'm challenging you, my loyal reader, to send me pictures of yourself! Yes! Why don't you guys take group pictures of yourselves in the office or when you guys are out makan and then send them to me and I'll put them up here. But make sure in the picture you guys hold up a cardboard or A4 sized paper with a greeting on it to me or something lah. That way other readers will believe it's really readers and not just pics I cilok from the net, kan. That would be fun, kan? Email me your pics to mrmanagermail@yahoo.com and I'll post them here and we can all gelak gelak ramai ramai!

In the mean time, enjoy this 'the making of' video of Here In My Home... and see the world premiere of the music video tomorrow night on AIM.



Oh, and if you're at home at 9.30pm tonight, watch AF Extended on Astro RIA 104. Guess who's the guest tonight?

Have a good weekend, guys. Love you all!

Oh yes, Dubai Part III. Monday next week.