œYOU are anti-national. This was what I got for my trouble at a public forum in Penang in 1971 for expressing reservations about the New Economic Policy (NEP). The meeting was chaired by Geoff Lembruggen, a Malaysian of Dutch Burgher lineage and formerly of the Straits Settlements Civil Service. He decided to throw in his lot with the country of his birth, returning to Kuala Lumpur when Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya in 1963. Geoff had had a distinguished career, quickly reaching the senior ranks of that elite body of men. Upon his return, Geoff was quickly pressed into service by Tan Sri (later Tun) Ismail Ali, then governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. Ismail, who had built a team of dependable professionals to help him run the bank, had a knack for spotting talent, and Geoff was appointed general manager of MIDF. Ismail was chairman.
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