Ep 49: Dato' Thomas Mun Lung Lee - Senior Partner, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill & son of Tun HS Lee (Malaysia's 1st Finance Minister)

Dato’ Thomas Mun Lung Lee is a Senior Partner & founding member of Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill - one of the largest law firms in Malaysia. He is also Chairman of AIA PUBLIC Takaful Bhd, has directorships at AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, is a member of the Appeals Committee of Bursa Malaysia Berhad and Chairman and Non-Executive Director Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd & Alliance Merchant Bank Berhad. He has also served on the Board of UMW Holdings Berhad, Saujana Resort (M) Berhad and Bank of America Malaysia Berhad. In addition, Dato’ Thomas has been an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland and a member of the Ad Hoc Panel of Arbitrators at the 1988 Commonwealth games at KL, the Commonwealth Games 2006 at Melbourne, the Olympic Games 2000 at Sydney & Olympic Games 2008 at Beijing. Last but not least, he is also the son of Tun HS Lee - Malaysia’s first Finance Minister! In this episode, we cover Dato’ Thomas’ life story, beginning with his earliest memories (of air raid sirens & bombs dropping over Kuala Lumpur!) to then fleeing to India after the Japanese placed a bounty on his father’s head, and how he eventually made his way to the UK with his brother for his studies at the age of 13. And his fascinating legal career, which included being in the same pupil batch as Tun Hussein Onn (who eventually became Malaysia’s 3rd Prime Minister) & Chan Sek Keong (who became the 3rd Chief Justice of Singapore). Highlights: 1:57: Earliest memories of air raid sirens & bombs 2:40: Fleeing to India 7:52: Living under the British imposed emergency rule during the height of the communist insurgency 9:42: Travelling to the UK from Malaysia via a 3-week boat through the Suez Canal 10:42: Studying at Leys School, Cambridge 14:14: Being guided to study law at St John’s, Cambridge University 16:29: Working as a tourist guide at Costa Brava, Spain 18:36: Completing a pupillage at 2 Crown Office in the 1950/60s 27:20: What KL & the Malaysian legal scene was like in the 1960s 28:54: Beginning his career in debt collection 30:34: Seeing Bannon & Bailey dissolve in 1963 & joining Skrine & Co 31:15: Why Dato’ Thomas wanted to be like John Skrine 32:19: “Don’t harbour a grudge. Life is too short for that.” - John Skrine 34:24: Working in the same pupil batch as Hussein Onn 36:12: Impact of 13 May 1969 37:57: Royal Selangor Golf Club 39:30: What Tunku Abdul Rahman was like in person 40:29: What Tun Dr Ismail was like in person 41:06: Setting up of Lee Hishammuddin in 1993 44:06: Turning down 2 offers to join the judiciary (including the Court of Appeal!) 45:03: Whether he ever felt pressured by his father’s legacy 📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/49 💌 Sign up for the weekly STIMY newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605