Cover Lee Kim Yew wears a shirt by Shiatzy Chen (Photo: Kim Mun)

The visionary founder of Country Heights Holdings Berhad is known to be a high-principled, charitable, family-oriented man.

Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew sprung into action at the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak by setting up the Bantu-Bantu Malaysia initiative in order to give aid to those affected by the pandemic, particularly the medical frontliners, the B40 families, orphanages, veterans and old folks’ homes.

Intending to alleviate people’s fear and bring them some peace of mind from the worry, stress and hunger brought on by the pandemic, he sourced for ventilators, three-ply surgical face masks, goggles and surgical gowns, and flew in a cargo plane from Xiamen to address the impending shortage that he foresaw was coming. He did this from the outset, while working from home. That’s not all; he also mobilised food hampers to be given to those struggling to put food on the table and set up the Palace of the Golden Horses hotel as a quarantine centre. 

In recognition of his humanitarian relief efforts, Tatler Malaysia recently bestowed the Diamond Award to Lee, which is given to a person who has had a lifetime of achievement and contribution to society—and also had a particularly notable year.

In a collaboration with Samsung, watch the tribute video for Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew featuring his youngest son, Bintang Lee and Ricky Yip, CEO of Golden Horses Health Sanctuary.

See also: Asia's Most Influential 2020: Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew

Above Tribute to Tatler Diamond Award 2020 recipient, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew