For some, the painting may trigger a sense of nostalgia for the simpler days of the past, when racial divides were less evident in Malaysia.

This beautiful artwork is the creation of retiree Yeow Teck Chai, a former deputy director-general of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), who was led to paint after reading the following excerpt from the piece:

“Those were innocent times. We were youngsters who enjoyed each other’s company purely based on the fact that we like each other as human beings. Although we followed different religions and cultural traditions, there was immense respect for the other’s religion and traditions.”

Each of his paintings comes with a message. “For this one, it takes me back to the time when I was growing up and had friends who were Malays and Indians. We never thought of each other as such; we were simply happy doing things together.

“When I shared the painting with my university mates in our WhatsApp group chat, they, too, said they longed for those days again,” he shared.

The genial 71-year-old, who was born and bred in Kuantan but now lives in Petaling Jaya, does not only paint to convey a message – he also does it for a cause.

Yeow’s career with Mida spanned more than three decades and began right after his graduation from University Malaya in 1974. Upon retirement in 2006, he started a consulting company to help investors set up their operations in Malaysia.

Despite being so busy, Yeow – who has loved art since he was in primary school – kept at the craft.

And while he primarily does watercolour paintings, he once worked on a satirical comic series titled “Durian Talk”, which he produced for the Mida Club newsletter – in which a group of durians discussed various Malaysian-related matters!

A love for art wasn’t the only thing that developed during his childhood. Through his involvement in church activities from young, he has always had the desire to give back to society.

This is why he supports charity organisations and has helped two in particular with fundraising initiatives: the Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped (SSMH), which cares for the intellectually disabled, and the SLE Association of Malaysia, which supports people suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disorder.

Both organisations were started by his former colleagues from Mida.

“And then I thought, how about putting my talents to good use?” Yeow told FMT. “Instead of simply asking people for donations, I could sell my paintings and contribute the proceeds to charity.”

He began devoting more time to painting in 2016 and, two years later, his first solo exhibition was held at Bangsar Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

It was a sold-out success: he successfully raised approximately RM260,000, of which 80% was channelled to the aforementioned charity organisations, while the remaining 20% was used to cover his costs.

In 2019, he was part of a group exhibition to raise funds for SSMH, where he managed to drum up RM35,000 from the sale of four paintings.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Yeow took it in his stride and ventured into something new by tapping into another passion developed during his childhood: a love for birds.

“Charity organisations were finding it difficult to raise funds as they couldn’t hold any physical fundraising activities. So, I thought, why don’t I produce a book about birds to help them?”

The 240-page book, titled “Birds of Malaysia – An Artist’s Love”, was subsequently released in November 2020. Priced at RM200, the beautiful hardcover publication contains stunning watercolour paintings of more than 100 Malaysian birds.

This project was particularly memorable for him as his eldest child, Charlotte, wrote the text accompanying the paintings in the book.

“I printed 3,000 copies, which shocked a lot of people including the printer,” Yeow said with a laugh. “People usually print about 1,000 copies of this type of book.”

But he decided to trust his instincts and, to date, only about 80 copies remain. He also aims to sell the original paintings of the birds to raise more funds for the two charities.

Giving back

Next year, Yeow has set his sights on holding another art exhibition called “Painting from the Heart: Children of God”.

“It will mainly feature paintings of children. After all, this is what I am working for: to help children of God,” he said, revealing that, this time around, he hopes to raise funds for orphanages.

With all these plans in motion, one can’t help but wonder: why spend so much time and effort doing all this?

“It is easier, of course, to donate money,” he replied earnestly, “but I decided to use whatever talent I have to give back to society because that’s the right thing to do.

“With any talent you have, you should firstly ensure you make a living out of it. After you have done that, you should use your talent for the benefit of the unfortunate, because there are a lot of people who need it.”

Learn more about Yeow Teck Chai via his website. To obtain a copy of his book on birds, contact Hang Weng Fong at 016-2328003.