Pushing the Boundaries: Stories from the Putrajaya Years

This book is a collection of stories and perspectives from 27 people who worked with Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, as well as from the celebrated Tan Sri himself, in several capacities across many fields while he was in Putrajaya from 2000-2013 as an economic advisor. The stories range from Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar's memories of walking through the “corridors of power” to a personal account of how the Malaysia-Singapore railway land dispute unfolded by Zaida Khalida Shaari. For those who might not know, an arbitral tribunal issued its award in favour of Malaysia on Oct 30, 2014, for the railway case.

In all these stories, Nor Mohamed is featured prominently. All the accounts are positive, even glowing. The self-deprecating accounts by Nor Mohamed himself make for a nice counterpoint at times, but also paint him as an amazingly competent, capable and charming individual. It is true, perhaps, that the best way to say how great you are, is to get others to say it instead. However, Nor Mohamed's track record says it better than anyone — he must be that good.

If not anything else, this book is invaluable in giving insights on how the country was run and how things were decided and executed. It also reveals what the intentions were behind the initiatives and moves made.