Page 39 - MDOS2_Final

Romania – Short

Impression

Halimah Abdullah

My post as an Ambassador in Romania had encompassed a total of f ve and a
half years, the longest of the six postings I had. Looking back, my time there
was f lled with memories of happiness, sadness, hardship, and challenges.
But by far, it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life.

T e Romanians always had a good view of Malaysia. I always like asking
the people I met what they knew about my country. Very often the person
I asked would think for a second, glow, and answer one or all of the
following: T e famous Sepang Formula One racetrack, the Petronas Twin
Tower building, and f nally, in a musical tone “Malaysia, Truly Asia”. T eir
answers will always leave me with a smile. Even though the answers were
very common knowledge to many people, what made a dif erence to me was
how our conversations followed after. It would always be welcoming, full of
heart, curiosity and joy.

Even though most had not visited Malaysia, there were some who had, and
when asked about their experience, would always exclaim that they were
fascinated by the level of developments they had seen. T ey were impressed
by our culture and technology. T ey loved our food, especially teh tarik and
nasi lemak. Some even visited the country more than once to enjoy what we
have to of er. But that feeling was very much mutual, as I was impressed at
the enthusiasm and positivity they had for Malaysia.

During my posting, we organised many activities and saw progress in the
promotional ef orts on Malaysia. As the years passed, more exchanges
of high and middle level visits took place. We hosted food fairs, cultural
performances, trade and investment seminars, fashion shows, and cultural

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