REFLECTIONS

A recap of the nine individuals who have gone through a triumphant journey last year

TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD Returned to the Premier’s Office

The revered statesman’s return to politics is an inspiring story, marked with emotional undertones of determination, grit and redemption. After achieving victory during the historical May 9th elections with his allies from the Alliance of Hope, former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned to public office to become our nation’s seventh Prime Minister. The world’s oldest democratically-elected country leader has since worked tirelessly with his new cabinet of ministers to answer the nation’s call for reform and for a better, more progressive Malaysia.

JOHN-SON OEI Joined a prestigious global fellowship

Just a year after winning the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian award, John- Son Oei was honoured with another international accolade. In August 2018, he was conferred as an Ashoka Fellow at the inaugural Changemaker Forum in Singapore. He will be one of four social entrepreneurs selected from Singapore and Malaysia to join the prestigious fellowship that includes Nobel Prize winners Muhammad Yunus and Kailash Satyarthi.

DATO’ FADZA ANUAR AND DATIN VIVY YUSOF Raised a successful round of Series C funding

Husband-and-wife duo Dato’ Fadza Anuar and Datin Vivy Yusof are serial newsmakers for their continuous pursuits in the world of e-commerce and retail. In March, their leading fashion e-commerce platform FashionValet announced its successful closing of a Series C investment from the Malaysian government’s strategic investment fund, Khazanah Nasional. It is a known fact that gaining a round of Series C funding is a sign that the business has entered the threshold of huge profitability. On a personal front, the couple also welcomed their third child together, Sarah Ilham Shah.

DIANI LEE Led a crowdfunding initiative to save an orphanage

A former equestrian and now fulltime mother, Diani Lee was raised by her family to always give back to the community. When she visited the Malaysian Lotus Charity Care Centre Association to donate some goods, she was dismayed to learn that disaster had struck the charity home—a fire scorched the building to the ground. While the children and elderly folk were safe and moved to a temporary holding, Diani was moved to create a crowdfunding campaign on SimplyGiving.com to help them. She has since raised close to RM200,000 online and offline, plus has assembled a full team of professionals to build a new home for the charity centre.

IT IS KNOWN THAT GAINING A ROUND OF SERIES C FUNDING IS A SIGN THAT THE BUSINESS HAS ENTERED THE THRESHOLD OF HUGE PROFITABILITY