NOVEMBER 29 — Almost anyone anywhere in the world could easily rattle off iconic brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche, SAP, Adidas, Siemens, DHL, Nivea, Allianz and more.
Then there are the endearing sports heroes Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One world championship winner, including 91 Grand Prix wins, Der Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer, who lifted the World Cup as captain in 1974, and as manager in 1990, and 22 tennis Grand Slam winner Steffi Graf.
Three hundred years ago Germany gave us composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, whose works continue to have audiences.
Even in notoriety they “excelled” through Adolf Hitler, who bulldozed the nation with Nazism dogma and led the Axis Powers into World War II against the Allied Powers. I am not making light from this horrendous episode in modern history as the German peoples too had to pay dearly in varied and sustained circumstances. I am also most saddened that the widely acclaimed military strategist Field Marshal Erwin Rommel aka Desert Fox was coerced to commit suicide after being implicated (through hearsay) in the failed Hitler assassination plot in 1944.
And the German reunification in 1990 was like a dream acted out. It stands testament of awe-inspiring political will coupled with unmatched nationalism to make that happen. Certainly, when there is a will there’s a way.
And in the ultimate sporting arena with their combined tally, Germany ranks third in terms of total Olympic summer and winter games medals won to-date (after US and Russia, and Norway and US).
Truly a nation of high achievers!
Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff
The German ambassador was posted to Kuala Lumpur in July 2017.
I know many European names can have a story on their heritage so I asked. His family roots can be traced back to the 1200s in Estonia and the next 700 years in Latvia. They lived in a locality called Lambsdorff which was carved into part of Germany.
Lambsdorff’s forefathers were Counts but they have dropped its usage some time ago.
Lambsdorff was recruited into the Foreign Service in 1983. He was one of the 24 successful candidates from over 2,000 applications. Next was the two-year Foreign Service training.
His first overseas posting was to Jakarta in 1987 as the embassy’s press officer. This was followed by assignments in Tallinn (Estonia), Washington DC, Brcko (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kosovo, Moldova (as ambassador), Southeast Europe, Turkey and the European Free Trade Association (Efta)-States (as ambassador and special envoy), and Hong Kong and Macau (as Consul General).
Lambsdorff recalls that his “life changing” moment was in 1972 when he was relocated to Wisconsin, US, after his successful selection in the Rotary Exchange Programme.
It was the first time living away from home and learning American English. Thousands of students worldwide were immersed in American culture through this route. This was definitely Soft Power at work, he stressed.
He saw democracy in action — how an American president was toppled in the Watergate scandal. Richard Nixon had to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment in the House of Representatives.
He graduated from Waukesha High in 1973 at age 19.
Lambsdorff’s American connection didn’t end just there. He married Marcie, an American (her mom is German), in 1982. Son Jakob was born in the US in 1988 during Lambsdorff’s Jakarta assignment.
All Malaysian food is fine to Lambsdorff but he doesn’t think he will ever conquer the spicy ones. Marcie enjoys cooking and when dining out their choice of restaurants will be guided by the dishes served that she had yet to master.
There are between 3,000 and 4,000 Germans residing in Malaysia.
Tete-a-tete with Robert Kuok
Lambsdorff had always admired business magnate Robert Kuok’s entrepreneurial prowess and world views and to his immense delight they got to meet on June 8, 2017. The Austrian general manager of Shangri-la Hotel, Hong Kong whom Kuok had a liking to agreed to set up the appointment.
They met at Kuok’s Kerry Group office. Lambsdorff of old school breeding was instantly floored by the charm and politeness that greeted him. The 94-year-old (then) was relaxed and was a great conversationalist, recalling events easily. Because he knew Lambsdorff had served in Indonesia he mentioned his personal friendship with the former president Suharto and had attended all the three sons’ wedding receptions.
Then he gave a brief history of the German ambassador’s official residence at no. 8, Jalan Langgak Golf, when he learned that Lambsdorff will be posted to Kuala Lumpur the following month. Kuok built the house for his first wife, the late Joyce Cheah, and it was later occupied by his elder brother Philip when he returned from his ambassadorship assignments in several European nations.
Although Kuok has established a permanent home and operates his worldwide investments in Hong Kong since the 70s, he has refused to surrender his Malaysian passport. Lambsdorff says it’s too apparent that Kuok is very proud of his Malaysian identity. He thinks Kuok is a bona fide Malaysian hero.
Postscript
d.school Malaysia of which I am the CEO is a dedicated design thinking (DT) school working closely with HPI D-School in Potsdam, Germany. After an extensive search seven years ago we came to the conclusion that the Hasso Plattner Institut offers the definitive design thinking model and coaching methodology and decided to adopt it.
Almost 5,000 participants have undergone various DT programmes since the d.school commenced intake on Aug 1, 2012, with 80 per cent comprising civil servants. The testimonials received to-date have been simply remarkable!
* Datuk Lee Yew Meng is CEO of Genovasi d.school
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
