I believe that if there ever was a man in Malaysia who could make a grander entrance than Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, he hasn’t been born yet.

After all, how can you top the person who gave away free trips to London as the opening to his speech, all the while being flanked by four gorgeous stewardesses?

That was exactly the scene on a Tuesday afternoon at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Tony Fernandes was one of many personalities invited to speak at the inaugural Youth Engagement Summit 2009 (YES2009). As always, he likes to do things in style.

In a serious tone unlike his usual self, Tony revealed to the hundreds of delegates about job openings at AirAsia, and encouraged them to apply via email. This caused a slight commotion in the crowd, pondering the truth behind his statement. Of course, by now everyone was hanging on to his every word. If he had intended to grab the attention of his listeners, he couldn’t have done it better.

In the hour that followed, Tony elaborated on his much predicted AirAsia success story, giving it the title “The Young, The Bold, The Power To Change”. And elaborated he did, sparing no expense at retelling almost all the events leading up to his ownership of the then languishing airline.

From the drink he had at the moment the idea of acquiring an airline came about ( it was Ribena, if you’re curious) to his hilarious retelling of the first meeting with Tun Dr Mahathir, the audience gained an entertaining insight into AirAsia’s history.

Tony Fernandes then moved on to the achievements AirAsia has racked up. And each of them was laced with his signature brand of humour. In an issue of Fast Company, an influential marketing magazine, the low cost airline was ranked 43rd in the list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies, 3 places above BMW.

“Every night I go to sleep with the knowledge that we are more innovative than the Germans,” he jokes. “And I sleep very peacefully.”

Tony urged the youth delegates to not be afraid to take risks, or risk regret later. “I bought AirAsia because I do not want to be 55 and think about how I should have done those years ago.”

He also advised them to not be discouraged by sceptics, as great ideas have always been frowned upon at first. “When I tell people about my plans to start an airline, they thought me crazy,” he says. “But I have this dream, and I am not going to let a few critics sway my decision.”

When it came time for the Q&A session, Tony proved himself to be a popular magnet for questions, as evident by the queue which snaked all the way to the main entrance.

Again, here Tony displayed his comedian self as naturally as if he was born with it. At a few points during the session, he even shared a couple of jokes with the normally professional Lorraine Hahn.

When an enthusiastic youth greeted him before asking a question, Lorraine Hahn joined in the fun and went down on her knees, tugging at Tony’s trousers like a rabid fangirl.

Never has a Q&A session cast such a powerful effect on the audience, having them in stitches throughout.

When the time came for him to end his appearance, Tony showed good sport by staying for Nando Parrado,the next speaker.

But the excitement did not stop there, as speculation abound about the inclusion of Narain Karthikeyan in the Lotus 1Malaysia F1 Racing Team.

Narain,who had earlier given a speech to replace Amitabh Bachchan’s absence, sat next to him.

I still believ that if there ever was a man in Malaysia who could captivate an audience better than Tony Fernandes, he hasn’t been born yet.

- By Tristan Toh