Haute couture AW18
She graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business at 20, and later moved to The Edge in Malaysia. For about two years, she learned the business by her father’s side and supported him in the various projects he was working on, including the 2013 launch of the pull-out edgy, aimed at Gen Y professionals.
The low point in what Tong describes as a wholesome upbringing was the passing of her mother, Carol, in 2008. “She was the rock in our family,” Tong says. “You ask me where I learned graciousness and supportiveness, and just being able to put my husband and kids first — it is 100 percent from my mum.”
What also took a heavy toll on the family was the 2015 fallout following The Edge’s reportage of the 1MDB scandal: Arrests of the newspaper’s executives on charges of sedition; a 2-month publishing suspension; and allegations that her father, Datuk Tong, was betting against the ringgit. “I felt angry, aggrieved and wronged,” she recalls. “But of course, in every bad storm, you see others’ true characters.”
In particular, her father’s fortitude throughout the ordeal left a deep impression on her: “I learned three lessons from my dad: Always do what is right, even if it doesn’t pay off; leave a legacy of values to your children, because that multiplies through the generations; and live life with purpose and integrity, because integrity cannot be taken away from you or bought.”
Raising her children with those ideals in mind is her focus. “What we say to our kids doesn’t really matter. It’s what we show and do.”
For her children, that legacy will include stories of the positive impact Grab has brought about, from the single-mother driver who could finally afford to send her children to school, to drivers who have gone on to procure a fleet of motorcycles to rent out.
“We take Grab all the time, and when we meet drivers and hear some of these stories, Anthony and I just cry in the car,” Tong says. “It makes everything worth it.”
She may have once aspired to be an activewear designer, but Tong is perfectly content with her choice to devote herself to her family. “I wanted it all, just like many women do. Of course, I’ve had those dreams, but I think I add the most value where I am right now.”
“I get front row seats to the fastest-growing Internet business in Southeast Asia, but I also get to be a wife and a mother, and I get to learn,” she continues. “And what I’ve learned is that it was never about being a CEO or having a highpowered job.
“Whenever I look back on the decision, I am reminded it was a very conscious decision. And I’m happy I made it because, despite the plans I had for myself, I think God actually had bigger ones for me.”