International Women's Day 2023: 10 Malaysian women at the top of their industries

For 16 years, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz served as governor of Bank Negara—the first woman in Asia to head a central bank. A pillar of stability in Asian and Islamic finance, Zeti played a pivotal role in the development of Islamic finance, alongside the modernisation and regional integration of the Malaysian financial system. While she received a PhD in monetary and international economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, she shared with Wharton Magazine: “I knew that I wanted to be a policy-maker,” back in 2013.

When she was appointed acting governor at the height of the Asian financial crisis, Zeti stepped into challenging terrains. Yet she successfully transformed the Malaysian financial system into one of the most resilient amongst emerging economies. As part of her reform agenda, Zeti was instrumental in overseeing the establishment of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (Inceif), the first global university dedicated to Islamic finance under Bank Negara. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious Royal Award for Islamic Finance.

Her parents, Ungku Abdul Aziz and Sharifah Azah Aziz, who were also public figures, are tremendous sources of inspiration for her. Similar to them, Zeti is an eloquent speaker and active participant at international forums; in 2014, Zeti was invited to give a Per Jacobsson Lecture at the BIS in Basel on managing financial crisis in an interconnected world. She is currently a co-chair of the board of governors at Asia School of Business, the first central bank business school, a collaboration between Bank Negara and MIT Sloan School of Management.

Poised, easy-going and at times humorous, Zeti speaks with a candour that is ardently unassuming—reflected in her steadfast leadership and resolute clarity when making strategic decisions.

Growing up in Ipoh, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh did not aspire to be a martial artist or movie star. Instead, her real passion lay in dance; particularly, but not exclusively, in ballet. Enrolled in the London’s Royal Academy of Dance at the age of 15, her prima ballerina dreams were cut back by a spinal injury she sustained from her practice sessions. Disheartened, but not completely hopeless, Yeoh pirouetted into the world of drama and creative arts.

Making a big-screen debut in 1984’s The Owl vs Bumbo as a damsel in distress, Yeoh had been intrigued by the fight sequences on set; it was like a choreographed dance piece, except without music or tutus. Having classically trained as a ballerina and sportsperson, she convinced producers to let her take on action roles. And so, Yeoh immersed herself in intensive martial arts training—kicking and punching with a bunch of guys for hours in the gymnasium.

Her second film, 1985’s Yes Madam! was a pioneering and breakthrough film, where she played a fearless detective and performed her first major stunt, making her mark as a Hong Kong action star. International fame arrived when Yeoh starred as a Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). While these films have shown off Yeoh’s physical abilities, it is in recent Hollywood films that allowed her to show off her versatility as an actress. A turn from grande dame Eleanor Young in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Yeoh explored her full acting range playing Evelyn Wang in 2022’s Everything Everywhere All At Once—taking home the award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical at the 80th Golden Globes. Yeoh’s transition to acting was not smooth-sailing but she doesn’t dwell on failures. Defying all odds, the martial arts star has risen from being an ex-ballerina, former beauty pageant queen, to an Oscar winner.

See also: Awards season 2023: Michelle Yeoh is killing it on the red carpet

Kuala Lumpur born and bred supermodel, Tan Man Liang, better known as Ling Tan is a dream for designers and fashion photographers to work with. After featuring in a Tiger Beer commercial in the early ’90s, Tan went on to clinch the runner-up spot in the 1994 Asian Model Search competition, and was whisked straight off to New York. It was a lucky coincidence that one of the judges of the competition was Zang Toi, a New York-based Malaysian designer who fitted her for his spring/summer show. There and then, her two-week plan to stay in New York turned into two whole decades.

Breaking into the scene in the mid ’90s was not an easy feat. With hard work and a little kismet, Tan’s modelling career took off, and she became the first Asian model to grace the Victoria’s Secret runway in 1996. Coming from a Chinese-educated background, Tan barely spoke English. Today, she is a full-fledged New Yorker who has featured in major fashion weeks and campaigns and worked with labels like Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Dior, even making an appearance in HBO series Sex and the City.

One of the most memorable moments was when she walked the grand finale of the Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture show in Paris in 2002 wearing a Smoking Tuxedo suit from his first collection. From closing runway shows to gracing magazine front covers, Tan has opened doors for many Asian models who are making waves on the international stage. Still, Tan stays close to her roots. The fashionista and food lover delights in Malaysian cuisine, home-cooked meals and hawker street food. When she is not catwalking or posing up a storm, she also loves gardening and growing organic fruits and vegetables at home.

With an upbringing in Ipoh, the 'town that tin built' also being a melting pot of cultural cuisines, Kwen Liew has been exposed to a variety of dishes since young. Despite having a penchant for watching cooking shows and scouring cookbooks for new recipes, Liew never had ambitions of being a chef. Not until a friend introduced her to Le Cordon Bleu which opened her eyes to the culinary world. After two semesters in Sydney, Liew transferred to its Bangkok campus before attending a pastry course at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in Paris. Possessing a natural affinity for the kitchen, her time overseas cemented the dream of opening a restaurant of her own someday.

In 2011, Liew met Ryunosuke Naito—a Japanese sous chef and her husband now—during her internship at Restaurant Antoine. They kept in touch over the years, even when Liew moved to Singapore for work before returning to Paris to join Naito at Bistrot Alexander III, a boat restaurant serving tapas and sharing plates on the Seine. With the couple’s training in classical French cuisine, they wanted more for themselves than just catering for over 600 customers a day; they aspired to make quality, revelatory food. Thus Pertinence was born; tucked away in quiet Rue de l’Exposition is their fine-dining eatery, furnished in contemporary decor, with seats for only 14 at any one time and a changing seasonal menu.

Possessing a flair for taste and worldly knowledge of food, Liew has thrown bits of Asian ingredients such as kumquat, tong kwei and kei chi into her broths. Making the best use of seasonal produce, the chef-duo serves French cuisine using Japanese techniques, which earned Pertinence its first star in the 2018 Michelin Guide, less than a year after its opening in March 2017. Besides being the first Malaysian to become a Michelin star chef, Liew is also one of the two women chefs to make the list that year. From stir-frying choy sum as an eight-year-old (with the guidance of her mother) to professional culinary stints in Sydney, Paris and Bangkok, Liew is not one to back down and forges her own path.

A fearless and natural diver, Datuk Pandelela Rinong Pamg is no stranger to adversity. Brought up in a small Bidayuh village in Bau, Sarawak with three other siblings, the Pamg children were thrill-seekers and nature-loving; they hiked, climbed trees, and played together. It is no wonder that Pandelela was able to jump from a three-metre board with flexibility, catching the attention of the coach who was scouting for talents at her primary school. After winning school meets including Sukma 2006, Pandelela was roped into the national team. At the age of 14, she moved from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur. Making her debut at the 2007 Asian Junior Aquatics Championships, she clinched four gold medals, enough to establish herself as the nation’s rising star. A year later, Pandelela participated in her first Olympics in Beijing 2008.

Professional merits however come with a fair share of sacrifices, especially in her personal life. As a national athlete, Pandelela trains eight hours a day from early mornings until seven in the evening. And while her teammates went home to the comfort of family and home-cooked food on the weekends, Pandelela had to find ways to entertain herself. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Pandelela won a bronze medal in the 10m platform, making her the first Malaysian female Olympic medallist. When she won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Cheong Jun Hoong in the synchronised 10m platform, Pandelela was honoured by her home state Sarawak for both victories. She is the first athlete to be awarded the Johan Bintang Kenyalang and have the state aquatic centre named after her. Like her diving—which boasts precision, poise and power—this Kuching-born diver has come a long way. On top of being a four-time Olympian, Pandelela also holds a Bachelor of Sport Science from the University of Malaya.

Dato’ Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is an instrumental figure for transparency and change in Malaysia. A medical practitioner, party leader and mother of six, Azizah is more than just a second-in-command. Having read medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Azizah served as a government doctor for 14 years before retiring to focus on volunteer work when her husband Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed deputy prime minister of Malaysia in 1993. While the political limelight was on her husband, Azizah remained in the background as patron of the National Cancer Council.

Keeping the flame of Anwar’s cause alive, she led the Social Justice Movement (ADIL) before launching the Parti Keadilan Nasional in April 1999, which saw her becoming the first party president. In August 2003, she brought the party into a coalition with Parti Rakyat Malaysia and won parliamentary seats at general elections. In 2018, Azizah was appointed the 12th deputy prime minister of Malaysia in the Pakatan Harapan administration under Tun Mahathir Mohamad. During her tenure, Azizah also served as minister of Women, Family and Community Development which saw her advocate for destigmatisation of mental health.

Azizah became in the eyes of the nation, a potent symbol of the Reformasi movement—and equally, of grace under pressure. She has inspired a nation of young leaders and women to rise up against the injustices of their times.

Datuk Yvonne Chia graduated from University of Malaya with an economics (analytical) degree. After university, Chia moved to Hong Kong to start her career with a US bank. Keen to immerse herself in the diversity of talents and forward-thinking people, Chia found her passion in banking quickly, picking up skills on the job.

Given a choice to relocate to San Francisco to cover Asia from the head office for her next career move, Chia instead chose to return home. It was a tough decision for her after 15 years with the US bank, but she knew she wanted to make an impact in Malaysia, at a time when the region was booming and needed foreign-trained talent.

Chia was made chief executive officer of RHB bank in 1996—the first woman to assume the position in a commercial bank in Malaysia. Alongside leading major acquisitions, she led RHB bank to be among the leading regional banks. Chia was also named among the “50 business women in the mix” in 2013 by Forbes Asia and a two-time finalist in the CNBC Asia Business Award. She has been the CEO of two banks during a span of 18 months during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis and has spent the last three decades in the ASEAN banking scene, with a focus on Malaysia. Her track record of value creation and leadership has transformed the value of the banks she has led.

Yuna, whose full name is Yunalis Mat Zara’ai, is not one to be put in a box. Just like her music, heavy-laden with soul and laid-back electronic, it is her upbeat and relaxed persona that keeps her grounded and going. When she started writing songs at the age of 14, there was no real push. Not until she was eliminated from Malaysian Idol that she started learning how to play the guitar and record her own demos. While Yuna went to law school, she would check out open mics and find musicians on the weekends. By the time she graduated, her acoustic music received one million streams on MySpace. But it was her Malay hit, Dan Sebernanya which solidified her as a rising indie gem in the Malaysian music scene. In 2011, Yuna was discovered by an indie-pop record label who invited her out to Los Angeles. That same year, she worked on Live Your Life for her self-titled EP with Pharrell Williams. Since then, she has collaborated on songs with world-renowned artists: Usher in Crush, Tyler the Creator in Castaway, Jhene Aiko in Used to Love You.

Having produced five studio albums, this Kedah-born singer-songwriter is also signed under Wilhelmina models. She has campaigned for brands like Coach and Uniqlo and launched the fashion project Nuova Flora with Malaysian designer Hatta Dolmat and FashionValet co-founder Datin Vivy Yusof. In 2016, Yuna made headlines for her Chapters album making it to the US Billboard charts for R&B music and appearing on the Nasdaq billboard in New York Times Square—making her the first Malaysian to do both. She appeared on the billboards again for the third time in 2020 as part of Spotify’s campaign, “Our Roots. Our Sound”, celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islanders in America. 

As a fashion-music muse repping hijab and modest wear, Yuna’s unwavering faith and commitment to making meaningful music is a shining light for modern Muslims and aspiring artists in Southeast Asia. Her goal is to collaborate with locally-owned businesses fronted by women and encourage young women to be comfortable in their own skin. 

Hailing from Kota Baru, Kelantan, Tun Tengku Maimun began her legal career in 1982 after graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from University of Malaya. She worked as a legal officer at the Southern Kelantan Development Board and Seremban Municipal Council before becoming the judicial commissioner of the High Court of Malaya in 2006 and then elevated as a judge one year later. Having worked in Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu, Tengku Maimun went on to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya where she presided over multiple high-profile cases as a Court of Appeal judge in 2013 and a Federal Court judge in 2018. Throughout her long legal and judicial career, she is also a wife and mother of four. In May 2019, she was appointed the 16th chief justice of Malaysia by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong— making history as the first female Federal Court chief justice since the country’s independence in 1957.

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