The Insider

Abstract

The two most embarrassing social faux pas of my life to date occurred in Asia. I still shudder when I think of them. The first occurred when I was at a dinner at the house of a Malaysian Government minister. Perhaps forty others were present. I was the only non-Muslim and all the other guests had just completed their prayers in the surau, or small mosque, on the grounds of the minister’s Kuala Lumpur residence. We ate at a series of round tables under a verandah adjacent to the surau. Present were many of Malaysia’s most prominent Malay businessmen.