By JAG
Millie Chan (photo inset) is a lawyer from Ipoh who also lectures on Family Business. She is the daughter of the late Ipoh industrialist Dato’ Chan Swee Ho and granddaughter of Chan Chee Keong. She has since relocated to Canada also practising law and lectures on Family Business for the Asia School of Business Kuala Lumpur established by Bank Negara.
A lot of her businesses she works with are family owned hence she dropped by YLCO (Yeoh, Lim, Chew and Oh) museum and met its curator Ignatius Chew.
Ignatius explained the benefits of a museum where families gathered especially during festive seasons, share old memories and bond with relatives and catch up with the latest family news.
Millie’s lecture will emphasize on how families governed and guided and will touch on the soft issues ie personality and the various ways to make families to cohere and bond together. She is planning to introduce the family museum and mention its cohesive power.
“It does not have to be big place just a place where you linger and share the past during their grandparents’ time, reminisce and whilst sharing their differences recognise that problems arise but in a different context. I will teach the students about the benefits of having a museum”.
According to a 2017 report by Credit Suisse Family 1000, 11 of the top 25 countries with the largest number of family owned businesses are located in Asia. China is ranked #1, India (#3) and Malaysia (#7) while Singapore (#17). The spectrum of family business is enormous, from multinational giants to corner grocery stores to those that have been passed onto succeeding generations but they share one defining characteristic: ‘they are connected to a family’.
Eight months ago Taylors University – IFEC (International Family Enterprise Centre) and Raffles Institution, Singapore visited for a similar purpose. It’s good to know YLCO museum can contribute positively towards a community family system.
