YLCO (Yeoh, Lim,Chew & Oh) Families: I Was A Classmate With Michelle Yeoh......Wong Lee Mei

(L)Wong Lee Mei in YLCO museum 2023 (R) Wong Lee Mei, Christina Cheah, Sharon Chen and Michelle Yeoh. CHIJ Convent Debating Team. Late 1970's. Pic from Lee Mei.

Wong Lee Mei, Michelle Yeoh and 2 other girls Sharon Chen and Christina Cheah were on the same school debating team and we won trophies.

The winning Debaters Sharon Chen, Wong Lee Mei and Michelle Yeoh

Lee Mei who returned to Malaysia to visit family and friends recently was at YLCO museum. She was a classmate with Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng together with Linda Oh nee Tan Siew Lin of the YLCO (Yeoh, Lim. Chew and Oh) group and she was willing to share what she remembered of Michelle during their schooling years.

When she visited the Museum she brought along with her school annual magazines for Linda to photostat. Linda Oh is related to Michelle Yeoh and was interested to know a little more about her school exploits.

(l) Wong Lee Meng, Amelia, Wong Lee Mei and Linda Oh (r) Lee Mei brought her school magazines

Lee Mei lives in Ohio, USA. She was the CFO of a $10billion company until she retired. Lee Mei was a classmate with Michelle Yeoh while in form 4 and 5 Science 2 at the Convent. She described herself as being interested in public speaking during her school days.

I participated in activities like speech and elocution contests. I took part in the YMCA speeches. Michelle too could speak very well. She with Sharon Chen, Christina Cheah and myself were on the same school debating team.

Michelle loved to organise dances. We used to organise a variety show for the teachers and students. She would choreograph and direct the dance and she would also participate usually with a ballet number. One year she organised a dance number using the song YMCA and it brought the house down, she did a fantastic job that one.

Reacting to the tune 'YMCA' at mum Janet Yeoh's birthday party in KL April 2023

Her whole focus was to be happy go lucky, have fun, lots of boyfriends, lots of dances, she was always a happy person.

Lee Mei added that Michelle would have been happy being herself but Janet, her mother, was ambitious and was instrumental in pushing her to excel and exceed her own limitations.

We were both athletic in school and both of us took part in sports. Michelle was involved in swimming and was part of the school swimming team. I heard that she was heavily involved in swimming at the Ipoh Swimming Club. She was there all the time as her house was nearby.

I was the head prefect that year when I shared the class with Michelle. Michelle’s sister, Yeoh Choo Siew, was on the prefectorial board with me. Me, Choo Siew and Michelle knew each other from our primary school days. Coming back was such a sweet memory.