Extremely busy in the last few days. Preparation for post-conference (Conservative party conference, that is) canvassing raid. Work has been quite hectic. And The Malaysia Think Tank London needs some serious business planning.
The event we organised last week was a great success. Tickets were “sold out” just three days after we advertised the event! More interestingly, we even attracted the attention of high-ranking officials of the Malaysian High Commission. Nevertheless, all was good. Some very good points were raised in the discussion. I was most impressed with the ability of the young generation to address the issue calmly. Yes, there were some heated bits. But, as I said, it is all good.
I met with Alex Singleton, Director General of the Globalisation Institute yesterday. With him was the man (allegedly) behind Guido Fawkes - whose blog is rich with Westminster gossips, and perhaps the only man who has ever been to Tony Blair’s monthly press conference wearing round neck t-shirt and shorts,. I am not sure if he wants people to know his real name, so I will call him Guido.
Guido made me think hard about The Malaysia Thinktank London. One question that got me thinking was, how will we “beam” our ideas to Malaysia from London? As we know, the Malaysian press is not completely free. And if the press does not support us, how will we do it?
I discussed the operations of a think tank with Alex. What should the structure be like? Is a Board necessary? Do I need to register as a limited company? How do I appoint an Academic Advisory Council? How do I build something from scratch? How do I select Associates / Fellows?
And I must say that Alex is extremely generous with advice. Since the Globalisation Institute itself is relatively very young, I learnt a lot from Alex. The one thing that strikes me was his determination and his clear vision of what he wants to do. If anything, I must get a clearer picture of where it is that we are heading.
A lot of thinking to be done this weekend. I must discipline myself, and start putting things on paper.
Apart from last week’s event, there was one other achievement worth mentioning. The Malaysia Thinktank London is now on the Atlas’ Think Tank Directory. I have just submitted a brief description to be added there. You will find us if you search for Malaysia.
Filed under: Freedom & Liberty, Politics
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