Puan Sri Siew Yong Gnanalingam made history as the first Asian to assume the presidency of global volunteer movement Soroptimist International in the 103 years since the organisation’s founding
When Puan Sri Siew Yong Gnanalingam entered early retirement in 1997, she didn’t anticipate how much she would miss the high-energy pace of the workplace. Having helmed senior public relations (PR) roles in major corporations like the Malaysian Tobacco Company and Malaysia Airlines, Siew Yong has always been a highly motivated problem-solver with a penchant for thinking outside the box.
“I had the choice to retire early, and I was very lucky to be able to that. Not many women out there have that choice,” the feisty 77-year-old says. “But after I retired, I felt the stress of not working and being inactive. I was so used to this hyper lifestyle planning campaigns and thinking of the next big thing to do.”
Read more: A Letter To My Younger Self: Puan Sri Siew Yong Gnanalingam, Former MAS Spokesperson For 17 Years
At the time, Siew Yong spoke to her late husband, Westports Malaysia executive chairman Tan Sri G Gnanalingam, about creating a CSR initiative within the public listed company for the benefit of female staff members and wives of management members.
Siew Yong was responsible for spearheading several philanthropic initiatives under Westports Malaysia's CSR arm, Westnita
1 / 1
The project, named Westnita, spearheaded numerous initiatives to help women and children in underprivileged communities. In Selangor’s Pulau Indah, Westnita gave out scholarships to children and even undertook a programme to repurpose Westport containers into a makeshift study space for children with autism.
“My father always said that if you want to do something, do it well or don’t do it at all,” Siew Yong says. “I didn’t come from a rich family and I’m not ashamed to say that my father was a taxi driver. He was a wonderful father. The thing he always drilled into our minds was not to waste time or money (‘Don’t waste my money and your time’, as he used to say). Somehow he saw something in me and felt that my brothers and I would make it in life.”
See also: Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz on championing women and youth voices in the humanitarian space
Siew Yong fondly recalls a time in her childhood when she asked her parents’ permission to join the Girl Guides group at school, which required buying a Guides uniform with a beret and belt.
“My mother said ‘Where do we have the money to buy such things?’ She said no before my father pulled me aside and whispered, ‘Just go and do it. I’ll get those things for you.’” Siew Yong says. “He told me to make sure I held a high position in the group. So I eventually became a troop leader. Later on in Form 6, I became Head Girl. In my head, I couldn’t disappoint him. I always had in mind that I had to do well. I always had to win and I always had to be first.”
