An evening with Datuk Azhar Mansor

(From Journal)
5.23 p.m. – Shasha and I arrive at Telaga Harbour.
-- Its beautiful! And the yachts here are all so luxurious.
-- Have to go around to take photos!

The Telaga Harbour Park is a beautiful Marina and Waterfront development next to Pantai Kok. The vision and concept was mooted by our former Premier Yg Amat Berhormat Tun Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir in the late 90's. Yg Amat Berhormat Tun had a wish to promote Langkawi as a major sailing and yachting destination for the region. The entire marina and it's Waterfront development was designed to capture the romantic ambience and mood of the French Riviera!



This place was stunning! The harbour and marina was built on a natural sheltered cove, making it a safe haven for yachts, cruisers, speed boats and catamarans to drop anchor in the waters of the marina. The Telaga Harbour Waterfront is a long sprawling development where there are rows and rows of quaint 2 storey mediterranean styled shophouses facing the marina and also facing the lush forest. There is a gas station cum convenient store where the sea faring sailor a.k.a owner or crew of a luxurious yacht or 200 feet cruiser can get their necessary supplies, top up on gas and even use the wi-fi internet service whilst having a cuppa. There is even a fast food joint on the 1st floor which also happens to be my favourite one - Kentucky Fried Chicken! At the corner of this huge development and by the road is a lovely little mosque often used for prayers by locals, middle eastern tourist and some owners of the yachts and cruisers moored at the Harbour. We hear even foreign tourists stop to visit this mosque.



Whilst taking photos of the marina harbour and especially the Waterfront- I was reminded of my holidays with my family in Singapore where we would visit the Boat Quey and Clark Quey to dine Al Fresco at their many many exciting restaurants . At Telaga Harbour's waterfront, though not as busy as it's Singapore counterpart, there are also really interesting restaurants. There is seafood steamboat from the corner lot Chinese seafood restaurant, A Russian restaurant (I love there Russian decor!) and even an Italian Bar & Restaurant. Also located at a quiet quaint part of the harbour is Tun Mahathir’s famous Japanese-franchise bakery, The Loaf..

For those who may not know, Datuk Azhar Mansor is the first Malaysian to sail around the world on a solo voyage. in 1999, it took Datuk Azhar 104 days to complete his voyage across the continents in the sailboat, The Jalur Gemilang. Datuk Azhar has managed to set a new world record which has been verified by the World Speed Sailing Record Council as an official world record. Datuk Azhar is one of the few people in the world to circumnavigate the globe singlehanded non-stop, and is the only person from an Asian nation apart from Japan to do so. Fewer than 150 people have managed his feat, and he has earned the maritime world's respect and put Malaysia on the marine map. He is known as a hero and inspiration to the youth of Malaysia.

Our appointment with Datuk was at 6.30 p.m. and it was now 5.40 p.m. So many things were going through my mind, like ‘what if Datuk didn't like us onsight because we seem young inexperienced and not as savvy as the many hundred reporters who have interviewed him before?? What if midquestion, I freeze and forget the question? or maybe after half an hour, our conversation goes stale and an odd silence descends upon us? Worse still ‘what if Datuk Azhar finds us utterly boring?! 'Now I really wish Ihad worn a shirt instead of my usual rugby polo tee shirt’ Sigh. . too late now !

We were early. And I was dead nervous.

As the Sun slowly faded away, we discussed what we would talk about with Datuk Azhar, making sure we covered all the bases. His life, his adventures sailing around the world and even making sure all our information on Rahsia Estates was correct. The size of the development, the amount of cabana villas, where it was located and all that jazz! The last thing we wanted to do was to look silly in front of Datuk.

It was now 6.28 p.m. With the Sun now steadily setting behind theMachinchang Mountains in the backdrop, we received a call from Datuk Azhar requesting us to meet him at the Italian Restaurant, The Mare Blu, which was located next to The Loaf. Once we had arrived at the restaurant, we anxiously looked around in search of Datuk.

To be honest, I became suddenly so nervous and feared I would not recognize Datuk Azhar in person! I had read many articles about him and have knowledge about his successes and even know that he is the Managing Director of Telaga Harbour, and although I have seen pictures of Datuk in the papers, I feared I would walk pass him and that he would be so offended by me that he would call off the interview. Yes, I was so nervous that my imagination was running riot ! I think Shasha's rare silence was a sign she was equally as nervous as I was.

As we walked onto the deck of the restaurant, overlooking the harbour, we saw a pleasant looking man sitting by himself. Dressed in a short sleeve button down shirt, jeans and flip flops, sitting in a most relaxed manner sipping his water, simply staring out onto the horizon and enjoying the sunset! As he sat there gazing out to the sea, unperturbed by noises around him, he looked as if he were in a theater watching and listening to classical music performed by an orchestra or an art enthusiast in a museum studying a Monet original. He was simply absorbing the ambience of his surrounding . Not fretting about time nor fidgeting with his phone (unlike us impatient city folk!) He was just sitting there.. being in that moment..

..Yeah, I had a feeling this was THE man! We walked up to meet this man and he gave us the warmest of smiles and our nervousness melted away.

After the formalities of introducting ourselves and some ice breaking small talk, our conversation turned on the The Telaga Harbour. Datuk Azhar explained to us that unlike The Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, Telaga Harbour is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains and villages nearby. This location gave Telaga Harbour an intimate feel and it's very own unique character.

Datuk goes on to say..

“In Langkawi, there are no such things as competitors. Everything compliments one another. All hotels, restaurants and even ports have different feels and different atmospheres. For example, when a couple dines at an Italian restaurant in the city, its lively and exciting, and the next time they may feel like having Italian food in a more relaxing atmosphere, then they’ll eat at the Italian restaurant by the harbour! All people have wants, and their wants are always changing, having selection and balance is a good thing.”

We then spoke of tourism in Langkawi. He stressed on how Langkawi is a‘quality’ holiday destination. Even though Bali is still a top class holiday destination, with year round booming tourism industry, there is still the distant memory of the tragedies which occurred in Kuta and Jambaran Beach. Hence, casting a slight paranoia for some, when deciding to holiday in Bali. Langkawi, on the other hand has the advantage of being untainted by any major natural disasters or tragedies.

And recently, Langkawi Island was officially declared the 1st Geo Park in South East Asia (52nd in the World) listed under UNESCO . Hence, Eco-tourism boomed in a big way in Langkawi! Gone are the days when a holiday in Langkawi meant picnics by the seaside, banana boat rides in the sea and duty free shopping shopping and more shopping . The local tour operators have now reinvented themselves and added many more exciting tour packages which include more educational and well informed tours of the many Islands around Langkawi, visits to the many natural Mangroove sites by land or sea, tracking in 50 million year old jungles, exploring lime stone and granite caves, tours by bus to Historical and Legendary sites and for the laidback tourist, Island picnics, where freshly caught fish and crabs caught from the Adaman sea, are cooked in front of the tourists and they can than enjoy al fresco dining on the beach and soak in the natural surroundings of the enchanting island.

“Langkawi really is a quality destination. We have so many hidden treasures and beautiful places and it shouldn’t be outshined by the material aspects of this island! The problem is that, especially with the locals, the idea of holidaying in Langkawi is always followed by ‘shopping’ or ‘duty free’. This shouldn’t be the case! Langkawi Island should be an ideal funand facinating place for all ages in the family.

What I mean by distractions are the outside factors that will affect a ‘family’ holiday! For example, when a family goes on holiday to Singapore or Bali, the kids will want to shop, and then the parents will want to sleep by the beach... or vice versa! Yes, we have beaches here and shopping, but we also have marine parks where there is so much sea life. We also have mangrove tours and jungle trekking! These are the kind of activities that will bring families closer together, making it one unified holiday. Not individual holidays bunched up to make one holiday!”

I could tell Datuk Azhar had a huge passion for this harbour and for the island. Apart from managing the Telaga Harbour, his side project, or 'baby' is his boat yard, where he puts boats together and then sells them. He also runs a cruise out to the Thai island of Koh Lipe directly from Telaga Harbour.

Yes, to him this was really home. Although his family is in Kuala Lumpur, he visits them often and they will also come down to Langkawi to unwind. But when speaking about life in Kuala Lumpur, he cringed and told us how he could not stand the traffic jams, and the fast paced lifestyle. He elaborated that to him, living in Kuala Lumpur makes it hard for people to really think and to really appreciate themselves.

Sensing that our conversation was heading to a more comfortable, and intellectual depth I asked Datuk to elaborate...

“In K.L., everything is happening at 100 miles per hour. You do not have time to breath, time to think and time to appreciate life... Cause you’ll be too busy being stuck in a traffic jam!

You see, over here, there is no such thing as ‘time management’. There is no rush, and it is not hectic. Time will pass as you move along with it. And only then will you have the time to breath, time to think and time to appreciate life.

I will sit here by myself, and just stare at the sky and wait for the Moon to go over the mountains. Even thought I really enjoy this, it’s not for everyone! When I tell people of how I like to sit by myself and just enjoy my surroundings, they will say to me ‘Gile la Azhar!’ haha but you see I believe that when you are truly confident in yourself, you can do whatever you like without second guessing yourself.”

He then spoke of individuality. Datuk Azhar is a strong believer of one's sense of individuality. He said that when one is truly an individual, he or she will have the power and confidence to control their future.

“There is that saying that there is no ‘I’ in team. But I don’t think that is necessarily true. I believe that a real team is a group of strong individuals put together with one common mission or goal.

It is about leading by example.

A friend of mine, who manages a team of 50 employees once came to me and told me that managing all these people was such hard work. And then I told him, ‘It is impossible to manage 50 people, but what you can do is reflect your capabilities on to them and lead by example.”

As Datuk Azhar, Shasha and I sat at that table at which by this time was full of little finger foods and drinks, in conversation which started off with business, then subtly moved on to his stories and now a full on discussion about life’s philosophies, I had realised that it was already 10.30 p.m.! The time must have completely passed us by without us noticing at all. I must admit, at the start of the day, my stomach was in knots and my head was scattered as Shasha and I continually psyched ourselves out by being utterly intimidated by this man. But by the end of the night, I can whole heartedly say that Shasha and I were pleasantly surprised and got a lot more than we bargained for from this meeting!

Wow. Shasha and I were in total captivation by this man. His theories and philosophies on life, the way he turned his theories into stories, making it more sensible than it already was. We could see that Datuk Azhar was definitely a man with many layers. Maybe it was journey around the world in seclusion, or maybe its just the magical island air, but whatever it is that makes Datuk Azhar the individual that he is..I sure want some of that!