REMEMBERING ANANDA KRISHNAN

By Azman Ujang

 KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Billionaire tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, who died yesterday at age 86, hardly gave exclusive media interviews, if any, earning him the reputation of a reclusive among Malaysia's richest men.

He guarded his privacy closely but from Google, the following is a famous quote from the enigmatic Ananda in explaining why he shunned publicity: "I have heard some people say I have a low profile. Why should somebody be high profile anyway? I am just doing my job. If you say I have a low profile, then by definition it means I should have a high profile. But why?"

But I have some very fond memories of AK as he was popularly known, from several encounters over the years both at home and abroad in my long career as a journalist.

The first time I met him was some months before the construction of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers began in 1993.

It was Ananda who sold the idea of building the 88-storey Twin Towers to then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for which he was instructed  to lead the construction of the project smack right in Kuaia Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) on the land which was previously a horse race course run by the Selangor Turf Club.

I remember Ananda giving a briefing to the media on the massive and unprecedented project, showing to us a chart with the design of the Twin Towers, long before they became a world famous landmark.

Then he invited us to pose questions and for reporters attending,  it must have been their first such experience with him.

I posed the first question by telling him that I wasn't really impressed with the project if what is being planned and later constructed was to turn Kuaia Lumpur into another New York.

He seemed startled by my provocative question but asked: So what's your suggestion?

I told him that to avoid it being a massive concrete jungle, there ought to be large chunks of land reserved for a greenery park around the area to give it some breathing space.

Ananda responded by saying: “Point taken, we'll consider,” thanking for the idea as well, once again showing his humility.

I thought that was the end of the matter but some two months later, I received a call from a very senior Ananda aide who broke very good news indeed to someone like me whose bread and butter is news.

The aide told me that Ananda had agreed to the idea I mentioned at the press conference and something would be planned accordingly.

Now it's not my intention in writing this tribute to Ananda to claim any credit but later a huge park which looks like a jungle within the KLCC enclave was built near the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

My next encounter with Ananda was in 1996 at the launch of MEASAT 2 satellite station by Dr Mahathir in Kouru in French Guiana, some seven hours flight from Paris.

Both MEASAT 1 and 2 were the precursor to pay TV Astro, which reached two-thirds of Malaysian households by this year, according to its website.

After the launch, he met with a small group of Malaysian reporters covering the event.

Before the reporters could ask questions, something unexpected happened.

He was attracted by the Nehru-collar white shirt that I was wearing as such a fashion style was his trademark attire.

“Very nice shirt you are wearing,” he said and I thanked him for the compliment. And I thought it was the end of story. But it was not.

He further asked: “Where did you make that shirt and how much it cost?” Even by the standard of myself being quite “notorious” for asking provocative questions at press conferences, Ananda's question on such a petty matter as a shirt was completely unexpected of a billionaire.

“You have just had your satellite station costing close to a billion ringgit launched and you asked me how much my shirt cost?” I responded, to the laughter of other reporters present.

“I'm quite embarrassed to answer your question but since you asked, a tailor shop near Federal Hotel in Kuala Lumpur made this shirt. It cost about RM200,” I said.

The next blast from AK was something most unforgettable: “Very expensive. Mine only cost RM40 and I bought in Manila.”

It was his way of displaying his most humble side. He genuinely walked the talk on humility.

The last time his office got in touch with me was about two weeks before polling day in the 2004 general election.

“AK wants to meet you at his office at 2 pm today. Can you make it?” said an aide.

“He wants you to share your opinion on the coming general election.” But it wasn't my lucky day.

I was then in Ipoh and the time he suggested wouldn't be enough for me to get to his office and I told his aide so.

There was no further contact from his office which I thought AK must have left Malaysia soon after as he mostly lived overseas.

I made some attempts to meet up with him over the past years but he was hardly in town.

Ananda was indeed one of a kind in more ways than one and it's safe to say that there's unlikely to be another Malaysian quite like him.

-- BERNAMA

Datuk Seri Azman Ujang was BERNAMA chairman, general manager and editor-in-chief