Ten Minutes With Prince Charles

By Mohd Faizal Hassan KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- Engineer Mohd Ar Rahman Hussin had just finished attending a meeting when he received a phone call. "Mr Rahman, you have been selected as one of the participants... during the official visit by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall..." the caller said, before giving him the details. When the call ended, Rahman had to pinch himself to realise that it was not a dream. This call came at the end of last month and the caller was an official from the British High Commission, here. Rahman was told that he had been selected to participate in one of the sessions that were to be held on Nov 3 as part of the Commonwealth Youth Summit 2017 at the University of Nottingham's campus in Semenyih, Selangor state. He was also told that the British heir to the throne would be visiting the university the same day to launch the summit. Prince Charles and Camilla had made their maiden visit to Malaysia from Nov 2 to 8 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the United Kingdom. PREPARATIONS "I was over the moon as such an opportunity doesn't come that easily," said Rahman, 31, a project director for a private company, here. "I felt so lucky at having been given the privilege (to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Summit session that coincided with Prince Charles' visit). It was certainly an invaluable experience for me." Determined to make a good impression at the session he had been selected to participate in, Rahman did a great deal of homework on the topics that were to be discussed, namely cyberbullying, climate change and the economic and industrial revolution. "I read several articles, magazines and books pertaining to the topics concerned to help me to participate better in the discussions, which youths from various (Commonwealth) countries would be taking part in," he said. INTERACTION WITH THE PRINCE Rahman said although he knew that Prince Charles would be launching the Commonwealth Youth Summit, he did not expect to meet the British royalty up-close. "I was told to lead the discussions with the other participants. We were sitting (at our table) and were in the midst of a discussion when Prince Charles stopped by and sat beside me. I will never forget that moment!" he exclaimed. He said the prince acknowledged them and proceeded to give his comments pertaining to the topics they were discussing. "During the 10 minutes he spent with us, he informed us that the issues we were discussing were close to his heart. He said issues like cyberbullying and climate change were important global issues that have to addressed for the well-being of the current and future generations." Rahman felt it was a great honour for him to have met Prince Charles and he was sure the brief encounter would leave an indelible impression on his mind. The Commonwealth Youth Summit was held from Nov 3 to 5 at University of Nottingham's Semenyih campus and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology at Cyberjaya. It was organised by the Commonwealth Youth Council in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Malaysian government. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA