MICHAEL Chong is not known as 'Mr Fix It' for nothing. His name is synonymous with almost all problems there are around - from missing children to unfaithful husbands to raising money for the terminally ill.
The 58-year-old is head of the MCA public complaints bureau, the arm of a political party that has shone brightly among the urban population of Kuala Lumpur, at least.
Chong sat down with Rentakini for a chat in his office last week.
Rentakini: What is the one most important philosophy in your life?
Chong: Any philosophy that exhorts one to help others in need is very important to me. The many problems I've been involved in like those of missing children, domestic violence, family disputes, abject poverty, terminally ill people etc are all about others needing your help. After the problems are resolved and you see the happy faces around you, there is a deep sense of satisfaction. And this is something that money cannot buy.
Growing up as a kid, what were your early years like?
I came from a very humble background. My family was very poor. When I was sick as a young boy, my parents could not even afford to send me to see a doctor. So I had to join the long queue to see the medical officer or even the hospital attendant at public hospitals to get free medicine.
I was 16 when my father passed on. I have four younger brothers and a sister. After my father died of cancer in April 1964, he left us penniless. We were conned by some unscrupulous Chinese sinsehs who promised this cure and that cure for my father's ailment but all to no avail. All our savings were gone.
We were so poor that we did not even have money to bury my father. So we went around to our neighbours and friends to seek donation. Ringgit by ringgit we saved until it was enough to give my Dad a decent funeral. After the funeral, we were back to square one - there was no money left in the house.
So my siblings and I had to queue again, this time at welfare centres and churches to get free offerings from others. This was virtually begging for food.
The day we were able to have some good food, I remember well. It would either be a Saturday or Sunday when my mother would go to the restaurant to wash dishes after a wedding reception. There my mother would ask for the left-over from the feast. It was the best food of the week for all of us.
Growing up in poverty was tough but it hardened us. A brother is now a lawyer and my other siblings are doing well in their businesses today. For myself, I have also been blessed in a lot of ways.
We are all on our own now. Our mother passed away in 1992. So we had tasted the bitterness of being sick, we tasted the bitterness of being hungry and we had tasted the hardship of being poor. Now, it is my turn to help others in whatever ways I can.
You must be enjoying your work as a problem solver, or as a 'Mr Fix It' as you are popularly called, very much.
I tell you something. It is impossible to describe the joy you feel in your heart after you see how others you had helped previously shine in their later life.
Let me relate one case. A young man, suffering from leukemia, came to see me 25 years ago. He was supposed to be a goner - there was no hope for him had he been left alone. Somehow, he came to see me. That was in 1981.
Thanks to many generous souls, I managed to raise RM42,000 for him to go for a bone-marrow transplant in Australia. He had a successful operation.
Today, that young man is a successful businessman. When he came to see me to say 'hello', he was driving a big car and kept on thanking me for helping him and saving his life 25 years ago.
This is the joy I feel in my heart after someone I had helped manage to make good in his later years. This is the satisfaction I get in what I am doing.
Tell us the one most memorable story about your work in the MCA public complaints bureau?
In December 1994, a mother brought her nine-year-old son to my office. When the boy saw me, tears rolled down his cheeks as he related how he overheard the doctor telling his mother that he had only three months to live. He had a heart disease and there were too many complications.
Somehow, I managed to speak to his doctor who confirmed that the boy's days were numbered.
All that the boy wanted at that time was to eat McDonald's.
So I got him a fish fillet burger, and he ate his dream McDonald's happily. Six months later, the boy died.
But his death was not in vain. The boy, Wong Keng Fei, left behind a legacy. His name lives on today as he left behind more than RM500,000 donated by the public to save his life. The money was not utilised as he died before much could be done. The Wong Keng Fei Fund has helped more than 200 children with heart ailment so far.
I will not forget this little boy who died 12 years ago. Yes, this case would stand out as a memorable story for me.
When do you think you would like to give this all up and say 'enough is enough'?
I think it is not important whether I give up this work or not. The successes we had is because of the MCA, the media and the public - they are all behind our work. It is a team effort.
But one day I will have to retire whether I like it or not. Age is catching up, I am already 58. However, as long as I'm still healthy, I think I will continue.
Then again, there is no such thing as 'retirement' from helping people. Even when I'm old, I can still help others in need. And so can all of you.
If you have the opportunity to meet one great leader in China (whether dead or alive), who will it be? Why?
I would like to meet Deng Xiao Ping because he was such a great man. He is the Father of Modern China. The country was poor but look at its economic successes today. Deng is a highly respected leader and he had made every Chinese proud of him. Now I suppose I have to wait to meet him in heaven.
What is the single most important thing you wish to say to him when you meet him...in heaven?
Thank you for sharing your great vision and wisdom with the world.
Give me your opinion of President George Bush in one sentence?
He is only human, had made decisions which may not be right but he did what he thought was best for his country.
Do you think the US will be able to capture Osama bin Laden under his watch?
Firstly, is Osama dead or alive? We don't really know. The Americans had bombed his hide-outs periodically and for all we know, he could be dead already. The tv images of him could be old ones, we never know.
Do you think legalising prostitution is necessary a bad thing in the country?
No. I believe that one day, we have to legalise it. We can never stop prostitution. It is not known as the world's oldest profession for nothing. We can only control it.
But let us do it the proper way. Let us cross all the social, medical, moral and religious hurdles fair and proper first. Other countries have legalised prostitution and there is better control of these sex workers. The medical part is extremely important. The sex workers have to go for regular check-up to ensure they do not pass on diseases to their customers.
Why do you think married men go to visit prostitutes?
Maybe, they want to try a different life style or they just go to release tension and pressure. I don't really know. I think you better go and ask other married men who had acquired the services of sex workers. But why waste money and get infected with diseases by visiting prostitutes.
If you can play God for a day, what is the ONE most important thing you would do?
Ensure there is peace and harmony across the face of the earth.
WONG YEEN FERN is a member of the Malaysiakini team. Feedback can reach Rentakini at [email protected]
