Leading The Change
Malaysian Women We Admire
Women are a whole community
Samba Sarawak, Cafe Cafe, Rebel Fitness, and Wonderboom are just some of the brands managed and owned by Olivia Ling, a woman of quiet strength from Sibu, Sarawak. She is a mother of 4 who is not only managing her own businesses, but also being actively involved in CSR projects such as Penan Women Project, where Olivia showcases the handicraft of Malaysian Penan women. Describing herself as relentless, she is driven by work ethics - a trait she attributed to being part of a business-oriented Foochow family.
Olivia started her career by working in the jewellery business in New York, even though she was actually a student of Law and Commerce. After the events of 9/11, she moved and worked in the fashion industry in Shanghai. When she returned to Malaysia, she started her own business of selling milk powders and diapers. However, her business grew, opportunities presented itself, and soon, there was no stopping her in continuing to push forward.
Her goals in life are to live a meaningful life where she adds value to the people around her as well as her community. She is also her children's biggest supporter because she inspires them to reach their full potential and allow them to grow into amazing people that she knows they are.
Olivia's work in building and managing homegrown brands, to her, is an eye-opening experience where she gets to work with people from various walks of life and backgrounds. While it's a journey filled with many different obstacles, she believes by working with people around her has given her the most sense of accomplishment and it's something she wouldn't trade for anything.
Her efforts with the Penan Women Project aim to help Penan women lead better lives by helping them to generate income through their exceptional weaving skills. Developing and innovating product design in order to open up a wider market to suit the urban market, the Penan Women Project is giving the Penan women's work a breath of fresh design as well as help to preserve their traditional skill. The project focuses on the women of the Penan tribe, an indigenous tribe of Borneo, to sustain themselves.
Her passion in giving back to the community stems from her belief that it was her community that has helped her to build her dreams.
A biologist by profession, Yasmin is an environmentalist by passion.
She's currently completing her PhD in Sustainability Science from University Malaya and while she's at that, she also runs EcoKnights, a non-profit organisation founded by her that mainstreams sustainable development in Malaysia, and is the Vice President of Malaysian Environmental NGO (MENGO).
Don't let her demure look fool you for Yasmin has many accolades under her belt. From being Malaysia's Most Inspiring Green Warrior in 2016 to the Winner of Cosmopolitan's Fun, Fearless, and Fabulous Award to being awarded the Women of The Future Award by Women of The Future and British High Commission Malaysia, this tenacious social entrepreneur is not showing any signs of stopping any time soon!
Yasmin relentlessly channels her passion towards encouraging SMEs to be eco-friendly and she is dedicated to making Malaysia a more environmentally-aware country. She volunteers regularly for local environment and social NGOs.
Other than her environmental work, she also serves as mentor for various national programmes on entrepreneurship, sustainability, youth empowerment, women empowerment, and human health. She also provides consultation for business transformation towards sustainability.
Yasmin and EcoKnights are constantly on the lookout for ideas that will aid the rapid transition to a safer climate and sustainable society in Malaysia.
Sasibai had everything - success, wealth, a sterling career in the business world. But she knew something was missing.
She was still searching for her bigger purpose in life.
She left Malaysia when she was 13 and didn't return to Malaysia until she was 29. Her years away from Malaysia were highly fruitful - from studying at Wharton in Pennsylvania to working with Lehman in New York to working in Ghana with the United Nation. Her years abroad has never made her forget this beautiful, little country and because she got tired of complaining about Malaysia, she decided to be the nucleus of change she wants to see in her beloved nation. So leaving a successful career she had, she return to Malaysia to start a social enterprise of luxury Malaysian craftsmanship brand, Earth Heir, and made a difference she did!
But running a social enterprise was a lot harder than she had imagined.
"Social enterprises in Malaysia require greater support and recognition of the work they are doing," she said. She spent years trying to find the artisans and developing relationship with them, but she kept reminding herself that she's laying the groundwork for something greater for the nation. And she was right.
Earth Heir became an award-winning social enterprise and she herself was awarded with prestigious awards such as Women of Style & Substance in 2013 and was Wharton's 40 Under 40 award winner.
Sasibai is passionate in creating a space to showcase works from Malaysia's eclectic mix of local artisans as well as creating a platform to teach Malaysians about our heritage.
Wen Shin Chia
This sweet, young lady is on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 for her work in Green Yards, an eco-products company that makes soaps and candles from recycled cooking oil. Chia is also one of two Malaysians recipients of the Queen's Young Leaders Awards in 2018.
Chia has always been an outdoor girl where she spent a lot of time camping and trailing obscure trails in the jungle. She was called to make a change in Malaysia's environment when she noticed that the places she found serenity from were no longer as clean as she remembers them. Since Chia was already running an eco project while she was still studying, she decided to extend that and start Green Yards after her university years so she could affect the change in making Malaysia cleaner for everyone.
Knowing that Malaysia dumps some 230 million litres of oil into our waterways every year, Chia is working tirelessly to source oil from local restaurants and household which Green Yards then turn into products that are eco-friendly. This social enterprise provides alternative and proper channel for the local community to dispose used cooking oil so as everyone can do their part in controlling oil disposal into Malaysia's waterways.
Her programme From Grease to Soap aims to educate the community about the possibilities of recycling and reusing used cooking oil through the use of green technology. Green Yards also runs workshops on making eco-soap to deliver knowledge to the public.
Wishing to see a cleaner and healthier Malaysia for her generation and generations to come, Chia is pursuing her passion with a conviction.
These women showed us how passion drives them, they showed us their work may not necessarily defined who they are entirely, but they showed us how to live life in their own terms.
Some with much sacrifices, but in between the ups and downs, we genuinely believe that there were no less fun and laughter and silliness. We believe all of us - while working and championing our causes, deep down we want to feel something that we've forgotten or turned our backs on because maybe we didn't realise how much we were leaving behind. We need to remember what used to be good. If we don't, we won't recognise it even if it hits us between the eyes. Our diversity, our differences is what makes us special and we must celebrate that and take care of each other.
We will be highlighting more women whom we admire in the coming weeks. You may recognise a few, some you may not. One thing’s for sure, regardless of ‘who’ they are and what they may have achieved, any one of these women is someone’s daughter, now a wife, mother -- perhaps a single mum juggling work and personal choices, the women who were once your classmate, or someone you may remember from high school, the one who grew up as your next door neighbour, she might have been your best friend’s big sister. Whoever they may be, WE see them as women who are smart, pretty, and happy to be doing what they do because their work or the causes they fight for – matters.
Malaysia(n) YOU matter.
*If you feel there is someone you admire who is making a difference for the country and you would love for us to feature her, do drop us a line and tell us more in the comments (below).
