GOASIAPLUS October 2018

SPECIAL FEATURE
The faint smell of chlorine wafts in the air
as I got out of my car. I was invited over to
Jessy’s residence for the meeting, a place of
wonder for many curious admirers of hers so it is a
work pleasure for me–to be able to meet her behind
closed doors.
Turning heads, beckoning attention, that is the
aura that she carries upon entering the room. It is
neither the casual white T-shirt she wears nor the
perfectly trimmed and styled short hair that calls
for a noticeable appearance. It is confidence.
Right in her element, Jessy welcomes her guests
with familiarity, food and warmth; just like any
other Malaysian. When one would think that as an
owner of a multinational company, she would be
wearing a golden robe or glass slippers. Well, they
are not all wrong. Jessy is surprisingly ordinary but
she’s definitely not an average person.
HAPPY GO LUCKY
In an Asian family, it is inevitable for anyone to be
spared from the unspoken agony of being compared
with your siblings by your relatives. As a child, Jessy
sees her elder sister being favoured by everyone.
She was born as a second child with 5 years of
difference with her sister. Compared with her elder
sibling, she has short spiky hair, monolid eyes and a
flat nose. “My relatives would ask my mother how
did she gave birth to two contrasting children; one
so lovely and another so ugly”, Jessy recollects.
This trial in her childhood days does not end
inside the walls of her house. It extends to her
school where teachers would note the differences
between the sisters. But she does not allow that to
put a dent in her.
“Despite lacking in my appearance, I have a
positive and cheerful character since I was young.
Just very happy go lucky. The environment in which
I was raised in empowers me to be brave and gave
me the strength to face different situations”.
Jessy grew up in fairly moderate household in
Malacca. She wasn’t raised in a lap of luxury but
she’s rich in self-motivation. “Since I don’t have the
‘look’, I told myself to be better, kinder, to improve
and excel from the inside–it’s okay to be short. I
can be a petite person but with a huge heart.”
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