Monday September 13, 2010
Penny right on the money
By RUBEN SARIO
sario@thestar.com.my
KOTA KINABALU: A quiet sense of pride and confidence was what retired Sabah architect Francis Wong Yit Shing felt when his daughter called from Australia a few days ago to tell him about her “new job”.
The job in question was as Australia’s Finance Minister that went to Kota Kinabalu-born Penny Wong, who was previously Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water Minister.
Penny Wong “Every father would be proud of his children’s achievements,” Wong told The Star yesterday.
“It is no different for me. To me, this is yet another example of Sabah Boleh.”
He said he was surprised when Penny called after her appointment by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Saturday.
“But at the same time, I felt this would be something different after the climate change portfolio.
“I am confident she will be able to meet the tasks at hand,” said Wong, 69, who now serves as technical adviser to Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Illiyas Ibrahim.
“Penny is a fast learner,” he added. He recalled how Penny went to Brazil as a foreign exchange student when she was a teenager and stayed with a family in Rio De Janeiro for about a year. During that period, she learnt to speak Portuguese and Spanish.
“She has a knack of learning things quickly when she sets her mind to it,” added Wong, who also teaches budding architects here.
Penny was born in Kota Kinabalu on Nov 11, 1968, and read law in Australia and eventually practised in Adelaide, where she represented unions and workers as an industrial court lawyer.
She was known for her oratory skills and successes in court and was elected the Labour Party’s Senator for South Australia in 2001.
Following Kevin Rudd’s victory as Prime Minister in 2001, Penny was named Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water Minister, the only such portfolio in the world at that time.
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