KUALA LUMPUR: A poignant picture shared with the families of victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines MH17 carrier is probably among the moments that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would remember for a long time.
Najib said that it was the moment which led him to make a tough call that led to the recovery of the aircraft debris in the conflict area in Ukraine (rebel-held area).
"I asked myself what can I do.. so I activated my international network to find someone who knows the leader of the rebel group (pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine). We finally managed to get his number and I managed to speak to him on the phone with the help of a translator.
"He said, I only hand over the black box to your people (Malaysia).
"I was directing the operations; it was a tough call to send our men in a conflict area with risk of being held hostage or shot down," he said during an informal question-and-answer session with Catcha Group co-founder and chief executive officer Patrick Grove at the Wild Digital Conference, here, today.
Also shared during the session was a picture of Najib with six-year-old Addi Asyraaf Mohamad Missbahuddin, who suffers from Alagille Syndrome, taken last month during the Sarawak election.
"More often than not, it is not the policy decision-making but moments such as this (with the boy) that I remember most. I was happy to meet him at his home although we initially wanted to bring him to the hotel where I was staying (during the Sarawak election)," he said.
Najib, who has several social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter and a blog, said he has a team to assist him with managing them.
"I do tweet, but my team also does it and there are also instances where I am on the move and would tell them what I like. But it's my content.
"I shake hands with people so I can't be hiding in a corner (just to tweet)," said Najib, later took a selfie with Grove and tweeted it immediately.
Other pictures shared during the session were a selfie with United States' president Barack Obama in the presidential vehicle The Beast, a group photo with young entrepreneurs and a variety of dishes.