SMI’s Excellent Awards Presentation -It Was A Yeoh Day

St Michael's awards presentation was really an all YEOH morning

In this second part of ‘Special YLCO Weekend” we witness the Yeoh family ie Associate Professor Ronald Yeoh Lam Soon give an inspiring talk to his alma mater St Michael's Institution, Yeoh Lam Beng make a donation to the school and inaugurate a laboratory to Dato Yeoh Kian Teik . 

 Ron Yeoh was the honorary speaker at the annual series of Brother Paul Memorial Lectures and Speech Day where the school honours the best students from the last year 2023 results. Accompanying Ronald was his family, the YLCO members and Professor Gary Lit. The event began at 7.30am.

the guests showed up early and took photos with the school ......

..then it was time for breakfast ......

...and more snapshots before proceeding to the school hall ....

...where kompang playing students announced their arrival ....

..standing to attention to the Negaraku

..a full hall of guests and students 

ExMichaelian Ron Yeoh gave an inspiring speech and got the attention of 'boys at the back of the hall'

Professor Ronald Yeoh is an eminent Consultant Ophthalmic / Eye Surgeon based in Singapore.  He was a pupil of SMI from Kintergarten till Form6 . He was asked to inspire the students who would be graduating and he did a remarkable job of getting the attention to the ‘boys at the back’ of the hall. 

He described his life in SMI up till form 5 as ‘a blur of football and fun’. When young there was football in the back padang and later there was so much extracurricular activity such as sports, drama or musical theatre. Brother Paul used to encourage us to participate ‘’to broaden our horizons”

..life in SMI ..football and extracurricular activities ....

But his world was shaken in 1972 when his class took a monthly test before the MCE examination. It had failure rate of 83%  ie 8 students of a class of 40 people passed . That was a momentous wake up call for me to stop playing and study hard. 

Ron's inspiring speech .... 

Ronald passed and went on to form 6, continued his medical training in London and now runs his practice in Singapore as an eye surgeon specifically cataract surgery. 

All the things I experienced in F5 and 6 I am doing it now at my job, ie giving lectures on cataract surgery or making movies on eye surgery. I contribute 30% of my time to the university researching, teaching and giving back via my lectures. I received an ASCRS (American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery) award for ‘making a digital film covering surgical techniques.   

'I made a training video and got an ASCRS award. (R) Ron with his actress sister Michelle Yeoh holding their awards. (December 2023)

But the best award I received so far was from my students at the Singapore eye centre for voting me for best teacher. It a all started here in St Michael's Institution.

The morning carried on with the executor of the Yeoh Kian Teik Estate, Yeoh Lam Beng present a cheque to the Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian. Later Lam Beng was shown the laboratory named after his father the late Dato Yeoh Kian Teik 

Yeoh Lam Beng (r) presenting a cheque to Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian (l) 

...with the Yeoh clan present 

The science laboratory dedicated to Dato Yeoh Kian Teik..it read "a true son of St Michael's Institution"

Mrs Yeoh Kian Teik (standing 10th from the left) with other members of the Yeoh clan  

..YLCO members take a photograph with the SMI principal Phoon and staff

..back at the hall Ron Yeoh and his mum handed out the student awards ..

Ron Yeoh and the students ...

Ignatius Chew (with red tie) and the students ....

..and receive awards ......

..it was a busy event ....

That's how YLCO members spent their morning at ....

... St Michaels Institution on 9th August 2024

It was a really busy morning.

JAG