LEE Hwa Beng, the Subang Jaya state assemblyperson, sat down with Rentakini recently and talked about his life outside of the political arena...and how he persisted in wooing pretty Soo Soo some 30 years ago.

This techno-savvy politician also has his own website and blog www.hwabeng.org.my .

Tell us something about your childhood. What was it like?

My father was a rubber tapper, and I used to help him mangle the rubber. After the latex was collected, we would use formic acid to coagulate it, then use our hands and feet to press it into a thin sheet so it could be placed into the mangling machine.

It was hard work! I used to do this in the morning, before school which was in the afternoon.

Those kids who came from rubber tapping families were easily identified, because after you had worked on rubber, you would smell so bad for the rest of the day!

It was difficult to get rid of this smell, no girl would want to date you...you just smell rotten, very bad!

We understand you have a happy family. Care to share your family with us.

My wife and I celebrated our Silver Jubilee wedding anniversary only last year, So we have been happily married for 26 years now.

We have three daughters, one of them is working while the other two are still studying.

What is your wife's name?

Lee Soo Soo

Oh, same surname. No wonder you and your wife are a good match.

It so happened to be that way. A Lee guy wooed and married a Lee gal. Doesn't it sound kinda romantic?

So how did you meet your wife?

Well, we went to the same college many years ago - TAR (Tunku Abdul Rahman) College, in KL. She was one of the college's most pretty and popular girls!

The boys she dated then had nice cars, and all I had was a motorbike. Of course this meant that they were a lot more 'cool'... It was difficult to compete, because all I had to offer was this old bike.

But I persisted...you know... pak see boh chow (never say die attitude). When a girl catches your eye, you must only have eyes for her. Forget other girls, just concentrate on one.

So in the end, she chose you...

Yes! Well, maybe she somehow saw into my future! Laughs

Ho ho, you must be quite a Romeo eh!

So so lah, can do lah. Not bad hoh. Laughs

And your daughters, what are their names?

Hui-Ni (eldest), Lyn-Ni & Yun-Ni (youngest)

You've upgraded your motorbike for a car since then?

My first car was a white Nissan Datsun 120Y. It was A second-hand machine, falling apart. But now I drive a Harrier 4x4.

In your opinion, define a sexy woman.

A woman with a good figure, young with a pretty face and if possible, scantily dressed.

Oh, you're terrible, YB!

Well, you asked the question and I'm trying to answer in the manner you want - the fun way. Laughs

Since you're in a 'sexy' mood, which celebrity would you consider the sexiest?

Here we go again.

There are so many! Really, it is hard to narrow them down. These days the media is overloaded with so many good-looking people. J-Lo has got a good figure, Angelina Jolie too... Well I don't know any local celebrities, but from Hong Kong and China, I would say Zhang Ziyi or Gong Li when she was younger.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I don't really listen to music these days, so it's difficult to say. When I do, it's usually evergreen stuff like Elvis Presley or the Beatles, music from when I was younger... 'Love Me Tender' is my favourite song.

Will you sing us a few lines of 'Love Me Tender'

Love me tender,

Love me sweet,

Never let me go.

You have made my life complete,

And I love you so.

What comes next? I've forgotten- lah... Laughs

Do you have a favourite movie?

Not really, I don't have time for movies these days. Well if I have to name one, I guess it would be Ten Commandments. You know, I actually watched that movie before I joined the Christian faith, but it moved me deeply even then.

Is your faith an important part of your life?

Yes, very much so! I am a member of the Charismatic Church. Religion is very important, it helps you stay on track. It keeps me away from the temptations of power abuse and corruption, and inspires me to serve the people in whatever way I can. My whole family are active members of our church, It's a good activity to do together as a family..

So where do you live?

Actually, I don't live in Subang Jaya. My house is in Tropicana, the other side of Petaling Jaya.

What's the worst thing about Subang Jaya?

The traffic! These days, everybody has a car and the congestion is terrible. We can blame this situation on our people - these days, you see so many cars with only one (1) person inside, Car pooling will not work in a city like KL as everybody goes in different directions. I think the only way it could work is if we introduce area pricing like in Singapore where cars with less than three people have to pay a charge in high-congestion areas.

Subang Jaya was well-designed, but it simply cannot cope with the level of affluence that people now enjoy. Each house seems to have three-four cars each, people are just getting too rich! I think public transport such as the LRT is the way forward. I'm looking forward to the extension of the system to include the Subang Jaya area in 2009.

If you were appointed mayor of PJ, what is the first thing you would do?

I would say 'No' to become mayor! I don't think I could do a good job. This is because I wouldn't be able to act freely, I would have no power over what I was doing. If I was mayor, I would have to comply fully with the terms of the elected office, and I don't think this is the best way to help people. The main thing I enjoy is giving them good service, helping with the small things...

I treat politics like a business. If I can solve the people's problems, then I am doing good business. If they don't come to me and I cannot help them, then I say that business is bad.

Do you own any firearms?

Yes, I do

If you could shoot one person, who would it be?

I would never shoot a person unless it was in self-defence.

What if you could pick someone to shoot in self-defence?

No, I can't say! I wouldn't want to shoot anyone unless I absolutely had to. I think it is wrong to have hurtful intentions towards others.

What about Osama?

I don't think I will ever meet him in person.

What's the strangest phone call you've ever received?

It was very late at night, a few months ago. When I answered the phone, I think I must have sounded quite soft, so I guess the person on the other end thought it was a woman.

A male voice started making some funny sex noises! I listened to these noises for a few minutes, then shouted "Oi!" very loudly. He hung up pretty quickly... ( laughs ) These people are quite strange. I think if you answer the phone in a manly voice they get scared and run away, because I received another anonymous call quite recently but this time the person just hung up quickly.

What was your reaction upon receiving the datukship?

Well I was very honoured when conferred the award in 2000. But it was in a way expected. The person who held my post before me had received a datukship after several years in office, so I figured it would come my way too.

Aren't they too many datuks around these days?

I think sometimes this award is not given based on how well you do your job, but is instead given just as a custom. This is why I am looking forward to the plans to reduce the number of datukships given out in a year to less than 20, because by doing this the true value of the title will return.

It's about dignity and respect here. These must stay with the honorific title.

HON YI WEN is an intern with Malaysiakini. Comments can reach Rentakini by emailing francis@malaysiakini.com

(Anything But Politics is an occasional column featuring political personalities, activists, intellectuals, about everyone really!)