OUR TOP STUDENT IS A GLOBAL LEADER AND IS IN THE LIST OF WHO’S WHO LEGAL 100
Born and raised in Pudu, Wai Hong is an MBS thoroughbred and literally breezed through his school days as he was hard working, responsible and well-liked by the teachers and classmates.
He excelled in academics throughout his school days and was the school top student for SPM in 1981. Other than that, he was also an active student while in MBS. A school prefect and sportsman, he fondly remembers the time when he was the captain of the chess club where he worked hard in continuing the earlier good work done by his seniors and building up the school chess team to be one of top chess schools in Kuala Lumpur. He himself has won quite a few medals including finishing third at the national level. His success was inspired by the dedication and supervision of the teachers under the leadership of headmaster Wong Lai Yuen (primary) and principal Yong Chee Seng (secondary).
When reminiscing about his MBS days, he remembers it as a school where the teachers were kind, hardworking, not boastful and very concerned that the students had good moral values and a holistic education. He said, “We were blind to race and religion. We mixed, played and ate together. All these values became natural to me and helped me a lot to mix with my peers and superiors and progress in my career. On reflection, the bosses always like a good team player and not a selfish but brilliant lawyer.”  (Top row from left): Prefect name tag, Sportsman name tag, (Middle row from left): MSSM (Kulim,1982 chess tournament badge), Prefect badge, Sportsman badge, (Bottom row from left): MBS (Secondary School badges with cross and without cross), MBPS (Primary school badge).
Any advice for the students, Mr Leong? Students must read the newspapers and story books to acquire a good foundation in English besides knowing the Malay language and Mandarin. After all, English is the international language. Without a good command, one would feel intimidated when attending meetings and struggle to communicate and succeed in the working world.
From my interview with him, it is clear that Wai Hong’s love for reading started since his school days. Fortunately for him, he had the advantage as he had access to his grandfather’s library. When he had exhausted those resources, he went to the public libraries as well. Today, he is an avid reader and a prolific writer of book reviews.
Wai Hong was working with a top law firm in Singapore before choosing to come back to serve in Malaysia. His connection to his alma mater is still strong and he served as the Assistant Secretary of the MBSKL Alumni (2005/2007). Another noteworthy contribution is where he offered to take in graduated students from MBSSKL for attachments in his firm Skrine to give them exposure to the legal profession and studying law in universities. They will have the opportunity of attending courtroom battles! For future lawyers-wannabe, this is certainly an opportunity not to be missed. Go Forward MBS!  With Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Singapore High Court judge Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy at the Opening of the Singapore Legal Year 2020 Ceremony
https://www.theoldpond.com.my/2020/03/the-three-giants-of-modern-china/ https://www.skrine.com/people/partners/leong-wai-hong https://chambers.com/events/chambers-asia-pacific-awards-2020/winners
written by Gan Swit Peng 21.04.2020 |
Leong Wai Hong (class of 1983, STPM) is a partner of Skrine – Advocates and Solicitors which is one of the largest full-service law firms in Malaysia. On the 16th of April 2020, this firm clinched the prestigious Malaysia Firm of the Year Award which was awarded by Chambers and Partners which produces international rankings for the legal industry. Heartiest congratulations to Wai Hong and his company for such an incredible achievement. He himself has made it to the list of Who’s Who Legal 100.