Ngan, another new friend would let Isaak stay at her home for two nights.

BBC: The trip that transformed me: The student at sea

Loy Teik Ngan, 36, is now chief executive officer of MBf Holdings, MBf Capital and MBf Finance.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

" Alex Hii, executive director of Global Minerals, describes Teik Ngan, a childhood friend, as "very careful and conservative.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

At MBf Capital, Teik Ngan is credited with launching MBf MasterCards outside Malaysia.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

Loy Teik Ngan declined to be interviewed, but the group's senior managers say the new boss should not be underestimated.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

An economics graduate of McMaster University in Canada, Teik Ngan joined MBf as a credit officer in 1984, a year before the Malaysian economy went into a tailspin.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

As group CEO, Teik Ngan's first priority is MBf Finance.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE

While most religions teach that vices are sinful temptations, today some philosophers and medical professionals question that belief, giving us hope for guilt-free trips to Ko Pha-Ngan, Thailand, known for its bacchanalian Full Moon parties.

BBC: An argument for vice vacations

Teik Ngan may try to look for a friendly party, perhaps a Malay businessman with ties to the government. (Tunku Abdullah, the brother of the current King of Malaysia, is executive chairman of MBf Finance and chairman of MBf Holdings and MBf Capital.) But many such bumiputra entrepreneurs already have problems of their own.

CNN: TOUGH CHALLENGE