BLOGGER and entrepreneur Khailee Ng only had one thing in mind when he started YouthAsia two years ago: He wanted to hype up his company.

With some trepidation, the 27-year-old managed to overcome the hurdles and won fame with YouthAsia, not only in the country, but internationally, finishing most programmes on a high note.

Ng said he spent time with YouthAsia, a company which works with industry leaders, media and society, to realise business ideas related to young people not only for work, but also pleasure.

He and his friend, Joel Neh, aimed to change the attitudes, perceptions and
use of social media among young people by conducting various activities and

programmes.

“We also own a youth rewards platform across Southeast Asia called Youth-

Says.com where over 250,000 youth members across Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia
and the Philippines are rewarded for doing surveys and promoting online advertising campaigns.”

Enamoured with his job, Ng, who hails from Kuala Lumpur, said lifting Malaysia’s name was what satisfied him the most.

“I am thankful for doing something for a country which gives me the fre edom

and ability to make decisions in life.”

B e i n g a Malaysian, he said, was about loving and accepting everything
about the country. “It’s about being aware of the people, the issues that arise everyday, the opportunities available and the potential we have in every
field.”

Ng said he believed that it was important for Malaysians to be conscious of
their surroundings to make things better. Asked on what drove him the most, he
said he drew his inspiration from believing that he was living in the most
exciting times in history.

“The thought that I can be part of this excitement fires me with enthusiasm to
value what I can do with life.” The YouthAsia co-founder and executive director said his motivation also came from learning from the hardships of past leaders in struggling against the colonial power to obtain freedom for the country.

Asked what Merdeka meant to him, Ng said celebrating independence came
with celebrating interdependence. “It is a good reminder that I need other
people in this world to be independent and we all need each other to do more
than we can alone.”