Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, 48, entrepreneur and CEO of AirAsia
BORN in Kuala Lumpur in April 1964, Fernandes founded Tune Air Sdn Bhd which introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians and subsequently the world, with the tagline, “Now Everyone Can Fly”.
He rose to prominence by turning AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline and a public listed company.
In 2007, he started a no-frills concept hotel chain under Tune Hotels. He is the team principal of the Caterham F1 Formula One team, which began racing in 2010 as Lotus Racing, and raced in 2011 as Team Lotus.
In August 2011, he was unveiled as the majority shareholder of Queens Park Rangers and was named chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd.
Tan Sri Vincent Tan, 60, entrepreneur and founder of Berjaya Corporation group
Born in Johor in February 1952, Tan is the founder and chairman of Berjaya Corporation group of companies which control a wide array of businesses ranging from golfing to property, resorts and gambling.
Tan started out as a clerk and insurance agent before going into business in the 1980s.
He is ranked 828th on the Forbes 2010 World Billionaire list with a net worth of US$1.1bil (RM3.44bil).
In February 2011, Tan announced that he joined “The Giving Pledge” that was initiated by Bill Gates, his wife Melinda and Warren Buffet, and to kickstart his plans, he will donate RM20mil to various charities.
Mavin Khoo, 36, dancer
Born in Kuala Lumpur in April 1976, Khoo is the youngest son of historian Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. Khoo was trained in the Indian classical dance form, bharatanatyam, under Vatsala Sivadas and Vasuki Sivanesan at the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur. He also studied Odissi and bharatanatyam under the legendary Ramli Ibrahim and classical ballet with Lee Yu Pin.
His main dance education was under the renowned dance maestro Padma Shri Adyar K. Lakshman in Chennai, India.
Khoo also trained at the Cunningham Studios in New York and furthered his ballet training with Michael Beare, Marian St Claire, Nancy Kilgour and Ayumi Hikasa in London.
Khoo is acclaimed as one of the world’s leading bharatanatyam performers.
Reshmonu (Hiresh Haridas), 36, singer/songwriter
Born in Malacca in March 1976, Reshmonu is known for his songs such as Walk Away, Cintaku Pergi, Hey Waley and Superfine, as well as his signature dreadlocks. His debut album in 2003,Monumental under Dhanish Records, earned him seven AIM nominations in 2004, for which he won Best Male Vocals, Best English language Artiste and Best Engineering for an album. In early 2009, he launched his first Malay album, Harapan,and in 2010, he released his first Tamil language singles, Theendathey.
Teresa Kok, 48, politician
Born in Kuala Lumpur in March 1964, Kok is a Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party (DAP). She became the first female to hold the position as political secretary to parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang from 1990 to 1995.
In the 1999 General Election, Kok won the parliamentary seat of Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur with a majority of 5,200 and was re-elected in 2004 with a majority of 12,895, the largest winning margin among the 13 elected DAP MPs.
In the 2008 General Election, Kok retained her parliamentary seat of Seputeh with a majority of 36,492, the largest majority in any constituency. She is currently the DAP national organising secretary, DAP Selangor chairman, and national secretary for DAP Women.
Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, 60, politician
Born in Kedah in December 1952, Wan Azizah is wife of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. She was the Opposition leader in the Dewan Rakyat from March 2008 to July 2008. On July 31, 2008, she resigned her parliamentary seat to make way for her husband, who won the subsequent by-election on Aug 26, 2008.
She was educated at Tunku Kurshiah College and went on to study medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She served as a government doctor for 14 years before deciding on volunteer work when her husband was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1993.
Karpal Singh, 72, lawyer/politician
Born in Penang in June 1940, Karpal has been Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor in Penang since 2004.
Currently, he is the national chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a position he assumed in 2004. His reputation as a lawyer and opposition politician has earned him the nickname of “the tiger of Jelutong”.
Karpal’s political career began in 1970 when he joined the DAP. In 1974, he won a seat in the Kedah state legislative assembly. He was first elected to Parliament in 1978 as the representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years before losing it in 1999.
In the next general elections, Karpal returned to Parliament and led the DAP to its strongest ever performance in the 2008 general elections.
Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, 48, politician
Born in November 1964, Mukhriz is the third son and fifth child of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He is a Member of Parliament for Jerlun, Kedah, and is also an appointed Malaysian member to the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
Currently he is Deputy Minister of the International Trade and Industry Ministry. – Compiled by Sandra Low
source: http://www.TheStar.com.my / The Star Online / Home> LifeStyle> Focus / Monday, January 23rd, 2012