Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Living with meaning - Koon Yew Yin

recently I had the opportunity to read Master Builder Journal issue 105 and something really catch my attention.

I've never known this man - Mr Koon Yew Yin

Well, he is one of the founders of IJM Corporation. amazing right? so far, I have only read and heard most of the big corporation owners somewhat will be Dato, Tan Sri or Yang Bahagia..and this man is just Mr??Okay...lets google about him and when I did, honestly I've never been so touched reading a person's biography like his.
Mr. Koon was from the poor background, grew up with 12 siblings, somehow managed to get a scholarship and study Civil and became an Engineer. He took part in many of the national buildings such as Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara. in 1983, he went to London for a heart bypass, he heard that news of Hong Kong market crash, upon his return, he invested in the stock market as he knew the market will bounce back. whoila..he made his returns and upon then, he became a full-time investor.

What's more interesting about him is his heart to give. Yes, he gave away his profits in the form of scholarships for the needy children. With so many achievements and so much generosity, he remains and maintains low profile. what's more greater than that!

He is one of the 4 top philanthropists from Malaysia recognized by Forbes Asia;

I came from a poor family and I know how people struggle for a living. For me, I believe if money is not used effectively, it is not your money. You can have all that money but your children will end up spending it or it may be lost in some other way.

That's why I want to help poor people. My donation of RM50million to built hostels for needy students in Penang and my contribution to other educational institutions is precisely for this reason. I believe in the strength of education and focusing on the poor who need it. In fact, when I die, all my money will be channeled to charity. My system is this..I've given more than 300- 400 scholarships. But remember, once you have gained from the scholarship, you should help others in future. There is no need to monitor the recipients of my scholarships, their own conscience will drive them to do what's right. Those who don't do it now, will do it later...I believe.

By doing this, I hope in time to come, they will eventually be thousands of charity workers doing my work when I am six feet underground. - Koon Yew Yin

the whole world is so tiny in front of this man. he is the real legend for me, too bad I didn't know him when I needed the help during my young age. I came from a poor background as well, left to work early in life but managed to catch up with the education part time. somehow I managed to complete an Executive Master's Degree and will somehow finish my Ph.D. someday. 😉


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