I sat at the 3rd row from the stage, corner to the left. Within near distance, I could see the front row of seats reserved for the honorable speakers at the Youth 08 Entrepreneur Convention . Being vertically challenged, sitting upright was the only means I could catch a glimpse of the person seated at the front row. My back was aching. I was looking for someone. One person you might know of, Kenny Sia.

I remember so clearly this name spoken to me for the very first time. “Hey, I started a blog. Please come and read it, tell me what you think.” I said to my best friend late year 2006. “A blog?” she uttered in disbelief. “You think what, you wanna be famous like Kenny Sia?” she prompted further. I kept quiet. “Who?” I heard myself say. Soon after I found out who Kenny Sia is.

Nudging behind my mind, I was eager to meet this person. A guy who brought inspiration to most of the bloggers, a person who brought fame to Malaysia in the blogging realm. A fact, he himself might not know of. Of course, I was keen to see this person, the master mind behind the popular website of Kenny Sia.

Still poking my head up right, I couldn’t find him. Tired, I sat back. As I leaned back on my chair, at the corner on the left, there he was, Kenny Sia seated in front of me. The very moment he turned, our eyes met. Stunned in eagerness, I jumped, causing a sudden spur of my body to react as if I saw a ghost! I smiled. He looked puzzled. I was still smiling and must I admit, staring without a blink on the eye. He turned left, no one was there. Then, he looked back at me shyly. I was still smiling sheepishly. “Oh, God, quit looking May Leng. He’s gonna think you’re stalking him!” my mind spoke out loud. Then, slowly acknowledging my silliness, he gestured a question with his head, to me what it seemed like “Are you smiling at me?” I nodded.

The speakers took turn to speak. It was indeed enlightening and the crowd clapped. Moments later, the audience had a chance to ask questions. A young, beautiful girl came up to the microphone. Her sweet voice said “Being an entrepreneur, it is vital to be pleasant. Kenny, you are known to be notorious and controversial in your writing, what are you thoughts on this ?” The room echoed with silence. All eyes on Kenny Sia.

We waited. He answered confidently. What struck me the most, was not the answer but the event that unrolled soon after. Another speaker, a friend of Kenny Sia it clearly showed, took the microphone and responded, “Kenny is a warm, kind and pleasant person. What and how he writes are his opinions, he brings humor in his writing and although it seem notorious, he is by far, very far from that as a person.” A testimonial spoken with such righteousness. I wanted to give a standing ovation, instead I clapped harder.

10 minutes went by and we had an interval. The speakers were surrounded by “fans”. I walked close to Kenny Sia and I find myself within a group of women. Clearly without much thinking, after introducing myself I said to him, “Kenny Sia, surrounded by the women. What a cliche.” Shyly, looking at the floor he responded, “Yea, I’m not used to this yet.”


That wasn’t the end of the encounter I had with him … but that’s another post … to come ..