Datin Kathleen Inspires Students at TFM Week

As part of Teach for Malaysia Week, YTL Group and FrogAsia representative Datin Kathleen Chew spent today teaching and inspiring the kids at SMK Jalan Reko, Kajang.

She told the kids her story of how education has always been close to her heart, as her own mother was a passionate educator:

“My mother was a teacher and so were my maternal grandparents. My mother taught in a school in Kuala Selangor for many years where many of the students came from the rubber estates or fishing villages in the vicinity.

At my mother’s 70th birthday, I managed to invite some of her students from Kuala Selangor, one of whom was a doctor. He told me that it was only through my mother’s encouragement and her faith in his abilities that he became a doctor. She dissuaded him from his ambition of becoming a fireman at the fire station down the road from the school.

I hope that I will be able to inspire at least one young person to believe in himself or herself and reach beyond his immediate environment, just as my mother had done.”

The students were thrilled to have the opportunity to get their pictures taken with a polaroid camera. They were then challenged to think about their ambitions and goals as they pasted their pictures onto a card where they wrote down what they were good at as well as what they aspired to be.

The children also had the opportunity to try out the Frog platform on brand new Google Chromebooks, while Datin Kathleen talked about how technology is rapidly transforming the way we live and learn today. 

In all, it was an eventful day of learning, interacting, and exploring - not just for the students at SMK Jalan Reko but for those of us at FrogAsia who were there as well. 

For more pictures, visit our Facebook page.

About Datin Kathleen Chew:

A strong advocate for education, Datin Kathleen Chew is the Group Legal Adviser of YTL Corporation Berhad, a diversified conglomerate listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. She holds a LL.B (Hons) Degree from the University of Birmingham and is a member of the English Bar and the Malaysia Bar. Prior to joining YTL, she was a partner in the law firm of Abdul Aziz Ong & Co in Kuala Lumpur.

Datin Kathleen is the Chairperson of Alpha Malaysia, a non-denominational Christian organization. She also takes an active interest in education in Malaysia and sits on the Board of Governors of the Assunta Secondary School, a mission school founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the Board of Trustees of the Benenden School Trust in the UK. She is married to Dato’ Yeoh Seok Hong and has seven lovely children.