And the moral of the story is.....................

By trade minister Rafidah Aziz (Malaysia)

With a reputation for her strong stamina despite arduous and hectic
schedules, it was not surprising that someone had to ask the Minister
of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, where her
source of almost boundless energy came from.

"In my job, you have to be cheerful because it's about wanting people
to invest. Can you imagine if I come to Kobe with a sour face and no
smile?

You will not want to come to Malaysia," she said when asked by a Japanese
businessman to reveal the secret of her staying power at a seminar on
Business Opportunities in Malaysia here today.

"You're great. You're so dynamic and cheerful. We don't see such a
character in our Japanese ministers," said the businessman who was obviously an
admirer of Rafidah's dynamic personality.

In reply, Rafidah said she was a naturally cheerful person. "I am not
making it up (in being cheerful). I laugh a lot and so it's easy for me to be
cheerful. It's not like I'm pretending to be cheerful. My nature is
like that," she said in a matter-of-fact and yet lighthearted manner.

The minister said her energy also came from the fact that she liked her
job."I've been in this job (her present position) for 16 years and I
have been in the government for 27 years," she said, acknowledging that she
was no longer young as she would be 60 years old this year and already has
three grandchildren.

"It makes me happy. You must always do what that makes you happy. If
you're not happy, you don't do it. That's very simple... If you don't like the
thing but you have to do it (anyway), you'll get the sour face," she
said.

Rafidah said she usually did not bring her work home with her. But if
she really has some work to finish up, she would wake up at 5.00 am to
complete it. "If I go home late, my driver will have to wait for me, my security
guard will have to wait for me and my other staff also has to wait for
me.

And they will curse me because they want to go home (early)," she said.

Rafidah said if she did not leave for home by 5.30 pm, there was a
likelihood that there would be five or six people who could be angry
with her. "Angry people are not productive," she said, admitting that she
was also not productive in her work after 5.30pm.

"After 5.30 pm, I'm not productive. So five unhappy staff and one
unhappy minister is not good (at all)," she said.

Rafidah felt that working very late in office was a waste of time."You
would be better off at home, (or) go out for dinner or play golf. So (at
least) you're happy and the next morning you're fresh," she said.

"If you go home late at 11.00 pm or midnight and you don't look at your
family and tomorrow you go into the train to go to office, in the end
you're not happy and your family is not happy," she said.

"The world will go on even if you go home at 5.30. The world will not
stop if you go home at 5.30 pm. "Why must you go home at 11.00 pm? What's
the point and how much work can you do between 5.30pm and 11.00pm?"

"Enjoy yourselves and be happy. I find that I work more when I'm
happy," she said.

NO OT!