Clockwise from top: Shahira Ahmed Bazari, director of Think City; Pauline Fan, creative director of Pusaka; Bettina Chua Abdullah, co-founder of Hikayat; Melizarani T Selva, spoken word poet, educator, curator and organiser (Photography by Gerald Goh/Imagerom)
Note by Diana Khoo, Editor:
The words of Maya Angelou always resonate with me and how better to honour her aphorism than by dedicating the 2018 issue of The Edge Edit, our annual women’s luxury magazine, to the women who stand up for not just other women, but also the causes close to their hearts which, as a result, effect change that benefits the global village as a whole.
My wonderful team at The Edge’s Options desk has put together an issue crafted entirely in this spirit. From the cover story that celebrates four shining beacons and tireless advocates of Malaysia’s arts and culture scene to three inspiring TED Fellows we had the good fortune to meet while in Bengaluru, India, and six ladies cutting brave, brilliant swathes through industries that were once primarily the domain of men, we wanted to capture the indomitability of these strong women. We hope we have achieved even a small fraction of that within our pages.
Just as we celebrate strength, it is also imperative to honour grace. To achieve balance, we profile the lissome strength of classically-trained ballerina Kimberly Yap, who is also a professional exponent of Bharatanatyam – a lovely example of the multi-cultural melting pot that is Malaysia. Read her story on page 60. And we cannot talk about strong women without including Datin Sue Ding, the London-based lawyer who recently made history by becoming the first Malaysian woman to complete the gruelling Marathon des Sables, the legendary 250km ultramarathon (the equivalent of running six marathons in under a week, amid the searing sands of the Sahara Desert to boot) as well as the intrepid Sherin Wong and Ming Ne Tan, who gave up a glamorous, comfortable life of luxury in Kuala Lumpur to set up their very own wellness retreat from scratch in small-town Australia after experiencing an epiphany while travelling through Bhutan. Discover their inspirational stories on pages 88 and 74 respectively.
As we journey further along life’s path, one of the most precious pearls of wisdom you might pick up would be the unerring importance of women friends. Call it what you like – squad, posse, crew. It was in this light that we decided one of the best ways to embrace life and celebrate it with all the gaiety of popping a cork would be via an all-girls getaway. Taking our cue from the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia vacationing philosophy, we hope you get some ideas and inspiration from our edited weekend guides to Ipoh, Penang and Melaka. It’s all on page 114 onwards.
Lastly, we also thought it fitting how our team, a vibrant, diverse group of women, should not miss the opportunity to salute the women authors who have played a key part in shaping not just our lives, but also the voices we would one day have. In this issue, we happily pay tribute to the five ‘women of letters’ whose books impacted our young lives the most. After all, as Malala Yousafzai cautioned, “We realise the importance of our voices only when we are silenced”. May we always have the courage to speak up and, as we said from the very beginning, stand up – not just for ourselves but all women. Enjoy the issue.
The Edge Edit is complimentary with every issue of The Edge Malaysia (Nov 19 issue).
