An afternoon with Michelle Yeoh

For over two hours this afternoon I was in the company of Michelle Yeoh, briefly spoke to her and shook hands with her twice (her handshake was firm and affirmative and the smile was of course dazzling). She came across as genuinely charming and friendly and really put people at ease. I was too shy to ask to be photographed with her though many of my colleagues did! She came to the event with her mother and a young relative and you could clearly see that beauty runs in the family!

Michelle Yeoh has been appointed as Malaysia's reading icon. The event this afternoon was for her to meet up with young people to tell them about her life-long passion for reading and to inspire them to read (a corner in our National Library will now be dedicated to her book collection). She spoke to them, clapped to their song, read with them and told them about herself. She apologised for her lack of proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia but still spoke a good smattering of it and read a whole paragraph of a book in Bahasa Malaysia by Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (the first Malaysian to go into space) with the kids. It was nice listening to her speak about her reading habit, and a bit about her movie career and how reading helped her master the many roles she had played in films. She had just finished a 4-month shoot of the film  'The Lady' where she plays Mynmar's Aung San Suu Kyi. I am quite sure she had put her greatest effort in that role and the world will be anxiously waiting for the film's release. 

For me the event pleasantly capped a busy week and I was really pleased to meet Michelle Yeoh in person and know that despite her international celebrity status, she is still very much a Malaysian - warm, friendly, gracious and generous. Viva Michelle, Malaysia is proud of you.