Extracted from NST Online
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek spent two hours and 15 minutes at Balai Berita in Bangsar yesterday, replying to 105 comments posted by online readers.
NSTLive received some 400 comments in the chat session.
Clearly taken up with the "live" chat, the MCA deputy president said he would ask his politician friends to use this method to touch base with the grassroots.
He thinks his son, Tee Young, would be interested in the NSTLive "chat".
"He's into all these (new technologies)," he said.
The former health minister said the NSTLive session clearly showed the interest and enthusiasm of Malaysians in chatting online and of their political awareness.
Dr Chua said politicians in Malaysia must change their way of thinking and dealing with people.
"This is definitely a signal to politicians that they should not take the Malaysians of today as those of the 1950s and 1960s. They have changed and so we must also change the way we think and deal with people," he said at the end of the session.
The questions ranged from his "cold" relationship with MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and tips in his capacity as a doctor to sex and his personal life.
He advised a 60-year-old man who underwent a quintuple bypass on how to avoid another heart attack and gave tips to another man on how to quit smoking.
Some of the commenters wrote about Dr Chua's father, who was a popular man in Batu Pahat. He operated a provision shop in a largely Malay community, where he had extended credit to many people.
Dr Chua said he was surprised that people in Batu Pahat still remembered that they owed his father money.
Jokingly, he said they could repay their debt by buying him kuih muih.
Dr Chua found that Malaysians in general keep very much abreast of the political situation, including that in the MCA.
"They are better informed, very critical in their views and thus we should not take them for granted."
He said NSTLive made the New Straits Times "people friendly" and that was a subtle way to reach out to the people.
"NSTLive is a learning curve. We can no longer depend on traditional media.
"The opposition had managed to woo young Malaysians because of the new media."
He said the new media must be objective in their reporting while the traditional media should not suppress news as they would be on the losing end.
1 comment:
Well Done, I am starting to gain more and more respect for you lately. I trust that you will continue with these positive moves to engage the rakyat and be truly willing to serve the rakyat selflessly, something which is very rare these days.
How I wish we could have the leaders of yesteryears here with us to guide us through this messy time. Maybe you can be determined to emulate one of this revered leaders and leave your good name cast in stone.
Thank you
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