Akasaka, I am...

Am now putting up at a hotel at Akasaka...

The Emperor's abode is just around the neighborhood, I believe...

Am here in Tokyo for a seminar focusing mainly on the 300,000 international student policy of Japan...

For those in the know, this is very much a 'dream' plan which will probably take a bit of a miracle to realise...

As it is, Japan is now struggling with the over 100,000 international students...

Problems remain tenacious... things like accomodation, language issues, cultural barriers...

Anyway, just read that Malaysia intends to sweeten up the deal to attract Malaysian professionals who are operating abroad... the so-called 'brain gain' scheme...

And I say, again??

They say that they need to match the high pay these professionals are earning abroad...

Yeah, right... it is the pay...

Meanwhile, a high school pal just channeled me a report on the 100-year celebrations of my alma mater, Sultan Abdul Hamid College...

Yeah, so it was graced by Dr. Mahathir... big deal... but kick my butt if you wish as I can't help noticing that it was very much an event staged by and for one particular race...

Which is fine by me... no issue with that...

Only thing is, where are all those ex-collegians from the other races?

Ooh, this race thingy is not my favorite topic to blog... but I just wonder, when is Malaysia going to turn 'multi-cultural' as she officially claims to be...

Returning home to work as a professional? Under these conditions?

Sorry, Maria...

Back to this seminar I attended today...

The participants were officials from the Education ministry, plus the directors and top administrative officials of the international student centers of national universities from all Japan...

And, yours truly was the only donkey there with a foreign name...

And when he spoke during the Q&A, heads turned...

Had a jolly good time chatting with the Japanese folks during the reception...

What a joy to listen to their opinions on what I spoke...

And I am thinking... imagine if I were at the celebrations of my alma mater...

Would love to be there, actually...

The reality is, I'd just be there, literally an invisible donkey...

The Malaysian 'brain gain' scheme...

Sheesh... these people just don't get it, do they??