JOSEPHIANS | LUMEN
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Facing page : On the Age ' s Melbourne Magazine ' s list of the Top 100 Most Influential
This page ( top left ): Hard at work
This page ( top right ): Wai Hong on the extreme right of the second row - a member of the winning Micromouse Team
This page ( bottom ): Receiving his Young Entrepreneur 2011 Award
However , one teacher believed in Wai Hong . Mrs Rosy Goh , the teacher in charge of Micromouse Club , looked beyond his faults and gave him an opportunity to represent the school in an international micromouse competition in Japan . This is but one of the many fond memories Wai Hong has of his school days .
25-year-old Fong Wai Hong Founder and Managing Director of Ozhut is a far cry from the lackadaisical lower secondary student who had to be literally dragged out from his Catholic Junior College hostel room for oversleeping to attend lessons in SJI only to be served with the dreaded pink form ( issued for serious disciplinary cases ). He was instilled with the fear his student record would be marred as a result . His Asean scholarship was also at stake when he hacked into the computer system in the hostel – an act meant to benefit his hostel mates and him from coughing out the $ 5 hourly fee . These , however , are not his regrets .
When asked if he had faced any major disappointments , Wai Hong wistfully replied , “ I guess you can count my not scoring an A2 for Literature but a C6 in the ‘ O ’ Levels .” He had been passionate about the subject and had studied diligently for it . To date he still recalls one of the famous quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird : ‘ You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it .’
Like the book , SJI had also played an instrumental role in his formative years as he put it , “ The fact that SJI is a Catholic school and many of the teachers are Catholics somehow shaped how
the teachers taught .” Values imparted then had made an impact .
His unannounced visit to SJI during his vacation in February this year saw him being dragged by his Secondary Four class tutor to two of her graduating English classes to give an impromptu talk . The audience sat listening to him enraptured by his anecdotes of failure , actions he ‘ was not proud of ’ but which he deemed necessary in forming him . When he finished regaling them , one student actually went up to him and opined , “ You speak well .” Unbeknownst to him , Wai Hong ’ s planted little seeds appear to have taken root and were already sprouting , hopefully , to great things one day .
Even with his company making significant headway in the online retail industry in Australia , having a turnover of $ 291,000 to $ 2.6 million within three years , attracting media attention in countries like Australia , Malaysia , Brunei and Singapore and being named StartupSmart ’ s best young entrepreneur and considered The Age
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it .
Melbourne Magazine ’ s top 100 most influential people all in 2011 , Wai Hong remains unassuming . He likens himself to Moses in the Bible , as having to always ask himself the fundamental question : What ’ s in my hands ? Moses had his staff and used it ; Wai Hong employs what he has to do more and bless others . In 2010 , his company contributed $ 25 ( the cost of a cataract operation in a third world country ) for every telescope it sold to the Fred Hollows Foundation . $ 14 250 was raised and so was awareness for this programme – returning sight to those who need not be blind .
Wai Hong has a strong sense of community and leaving a legacy , he will continue to make his mark just like the way his eyes glistened as he spoke purposefully to his juniors when he returned to his alma mater .