Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is one of the world’s most respected leaders, what with him being in charge of the region’s most prosperous economy and the son of one of the 20th century’s political giants.
During last weekend’s 26th ASEAN Summit in KL, however, he was reminded that sometimes, some people just don’t have the time to keep up to date with all that governing jazz.
In between high-level meetings with other regional heads of government, premier Lee came across Tambunan, Sabah-born musician Philippus Jani, who was invited to perform at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and showcase his unique handmade bamboo instruments, including his singature bamboo saxophone.
We’ll let Lee’s own Facebook post explain what happened next:
Lee’s anecdote of his encounter with Philippus has gone moderately viral, with more than 6,448 Likes at the time of this writing.
While a few Malaysian netizens replied to the post offering up apologies for one of their countrymen ont recognizing him, premier Lee was pretty chill about the whole thing.
“No need to apologise at all. Nice not to be recognised all the time, and good to be reminded not to take myself too seriously!” he replied to one such note of apology.
Besides, Philippus had every right to walk confidently through the KLCC halls last weekend. Who else made their own saxophone out of bamboo? Maybe we should feel bad no one knew who he was.
Know about something happening in KL and Malaysia? Want to share? Send us an email:kl@coconuts.co – don’t just read the news, make it!
