Last year it was the Russians swamping the forum. This year it is the Turks. Suddenly they were everywhere yesterday — hundreds of them. Two hundred and sixty-five to be precise, according to a charming man from the embassy in Riyadh. There probably have not been so many Turkish officials here since the end of the Ottoman Empire. I should have realized that something was up the night before, when I stumbled into battalions of them in the lobby of the Hilton. They certainly had not been in evidence earlier in the day. I’m sure I would have noticed. All in very smart suits; not a thobe among them. But all these people — apparently some 160 are businessmen — had come for just a couple of days before all jetting back to Turkey. What can they all possibly do in just 48 hours? Certainly not tie up 160 deals. But it was very nice to see them.
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Yesterday, the theme was regional growth. So we listened to fascinating and instructive examples of how near neighbors such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have prospered by privatizing and embracing the private sector. But someone seems to have forgotten Iran. Surely, it is as much regional as Turkey or Lebanon, and a lot more regional than Malaysia. What’s more, it has a pretty dynamic private sector.
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The women are in militant mood. At least some of them are, but not about discrimination. Criticism has been overheard in the Ladies Section about the forum being held in English, not Arabic. Presumably then, they would not have been too pleased with former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s comments about the need to use English in the modern world. His government decided that all schools in the country should teach in English so that Malaysia can play a full role in the world. Now what would the ladies say if the same was done here? Perhaps mushkilla kabira?
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Apropos Dr. Mahathir, he is quite remarkable. He spoke for almost an hour without notes or a teleprompter. But the transcript, which was available shortly afterward, was virtually identical. Obviously the speech had been written earlier. He had remembered it word for word. Even for a seasoned politician, that takes some doing. Perhaps he did not need to remember it; he had it in his heart.
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Now, what about the parking? “You can’t park there.” Policemen, all looking about 14 years old, in oversize uniforms and large cars, taking up the space we could have parked in, civilly direct us into roads leading far away from the conference hall — about as far as you can walk without collapsing from sunstroke. They then disappeared without trace and let the now empty spaces fill with vehicles — each thoughtfully parked so as not to be able to squeeze another car in. It seems odd that in a country where drivers have to be surgically removed from their vehicles rather than walk 50 meters, so many hotels and conference centers have insufficient parking space.
— Mountebank
