I had the privilege of being in audience for the inauguration lecture of one of the my most respected Professor at UM, Prof Adeeba Kamarulzaman. She is the Infectious Disease Physician at UMMC and currently the Chairman of the Malaysian AIDS Council. Her lecture was mainly on the problem of HIV infection and IV drug user, and how the "tough love" approach by the authority may not be the best way forward. After all, addiction should be seen as a disease which should be approached medically in a systematic manner.
Though I missed the first ten minutes if the talk, I managed to sneaked through the back door and for 45 minutes, she presented arguments on how the problem above should be approached in the future. Even though those nay be ideal, she appreciated the hurdles faced in our community both culturally and politically.
At the end, when the lights were undimmed, I then realised who was in the audience. There was Marina Mahathir, a few of her collaborators home and abroad, a few dignitaries including ambassadors from Europe - Netherlands included which she made the point of the impact on addiction as the ban against marijuana was lifted. Not least was her uncle, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. The University's top brace pale in comparison to these distinguished guests to be honest.