A Foundation for Education

YTL Foundation has been empowering local educators and students alike for 25 years and counting

- Aaron Pereira

Staying true to the ethos of its founder, the late Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay, the YTL Foundation is making a positive impact in the realm of education, helping Malaysian individuals overcome barriers to learning and success to strengthen the future of our beloved nation.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Tatler sits down with Dato’ Kathleen Chew and Tan Sri Dr Abu Hassan Othman, who are integral members of the YTL Foundation, to find out more about its founder and its pioneering programmes and initiatives.

As a former teacher and a Fulbright-Hays scholar who holds a PhD in sociology, Dr Abu Hassan shares Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay’s passion for education and holds the man in great esteem.

“The late Tan Sri didn’t have the opportunity to go to university himself, but always saw tertiary education as a path that he wanted the young people of Malaysia to have,” he says. “He was an allround supporter of education, even helping out his school, Hin Hua High School in Klang, which he co-founded in 1947.” (Yeoh and his wife, the late Puan Sri Tan Kai Yong, had set up a charity fund to aid in the school’s future development before his passing in 2017.)