Datuk Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldest ...

Lai Kwai Yoon (; 29 September 1928 - 6 May 2018), known professionally as Lai Meng (), was a Malaysian actress. She appeared in many Malaysian and Singaporean films and TV shows, notably ''Empat Sekawan'', ''

Ah Long Pte Ltd ''Ah Long Pte Ltd'' () is a 2008 action comedy film directed by Singaporean film director Jack Neo, starring Fann Wong and Mark Lee. Co-produced by Mediacorp Raintree Pictures, Scorpio East Pictures and Double Vision (Malaysia), the film was mos ...

'', ''

Money No Enough 2 ''Money No Enough 2'' () is a Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and produced by Neo Studios, Mediacorp Raintree Pictures and Scorpio East Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1998's film ''Money No Enough'', which was directed ...

'', ''Taxi! Taxi!'' and '' Supermum''.

Early life

Lai was born in

Benut Benut is a mukim in Pontian District, Johor, Malaysia. Geography The mukim spans over an area of . Demographics Benut has a population of 15,389 people. Education Primary school #Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Benut #Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Sinar ...

Pontian District Pontian District ( ms, Daerah Pontian) is a district located in southwest part of the Malaysian state of Johor. It borders Batu Pahat and Kluang Districts to the north and Kulai and Johor Bahru Districts to the east. Etymology The name o ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

on 29 September 1928, her full name was Lai Kwai Yoon. With a passion for singing, Lai joined

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

Meng Seng Charitable Association's choir and occasionally held performances with the choir. After catching a performance of Lai by chance, an established singer, Hoi Yong struck a friendship with her and would later spark her interest in becoming a singer later on. However due to Lai's godfather's prior experiences while working in gambling dens, he dissuaded Lai from becoming one until when she was 21 in 1949.

Career

In 1949, Lai started performing on stage in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

as a

getai A getai (literally song stage) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: 歌台) is a usually boisterous live stage performance held during the Ghost Festival commonly held in Singapore, Malaysia and some parts of Indonesia (mainly in Riau, ...

singer with the stage name, Lai Meng. She soon struck close friendships and would usually perform with Hon Ying, Hoi Yong and Wong Hor. In 1952, the four decided to join a radio station and started broadcasting a radio show, ''Empat Sekawan'', a comedy skit with dialogue in various Chinese dialects intermingled with Malay. Due to the radio show, the four went on to cast in a movie, ''You Qiu Bi Ying'' (有求必应) in 1964. Similarly, the multi-dialect laden movie was well received in Malaysia's box office. The radio show was so well received that it evolved into a television show which was broadcast on a

Radio Televisyen Malaysia Radio Televisyen Malaysia ( en, Radio Television of Malaysia, abbreviated as RTM, stylised as rtm), also known as the Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia ( ms, Jabatan Penyiaran Malaysia) is the national public broadcaster of Malaysia. Establi ...

's television channel in 1966. However due to governmental pressure in promoting

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

in Malaysia and the increasing popularity of Hong Kong and Taiwanese television shows within the nation, ''Empat Sekawan'' ended broadcast in 1988. After ''Empat Sekawan'' ended and although Lai had lost her job, as the local entertainment industry in Malaysia and Singapore was maturing, she soon joined a movie production company despite her advanced age and knowing that she would not be able to get lead roles anymore. However, the production company also went bankrupt soon after. Due to her husband's illness, Lai took up a sales role to support her family until 2006. Her husband died in 2006. In 2008,

Jack Neo Jack Neo (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean actor, television host, comedian and film director. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles ...

decided to cast Lai in ''

'', and attested to her professionalism as an actress. Lai soon accepted roles in the next

movie being ''

''. Her acting did not go unnoticed and was recognised when she was nominated for

Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress This is a list of winners and nominees of the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress (). Superlatives Multiple wins and nominations The following individuals received two or more Best Supporting Actress awards: The following indivi ...

for portraying an Alzheimer's-ridden mother ''

'' in 2008. In 2013, Lai also starred in Singaporean movie ''Taxi! Taxi!''.

Retirement and later life

Lai had a fall in 2016, requiring her to use a wheelchair. She then took a break from acting. Subsequently in 2017, Lai announced her retirement with a 89th birthday gala dinner that was well attended by other artistes and friends from the entertainment industry, saying that even though she didn't earn much over the years, she had no regrets. Lai Meng passed away on 6 May 2018, at the age of 89 of stroke. She was interred at the living tomb that was given to her in 2013 at the Nirvana Memorial Garden in

Semenyih Semenyih is a town and a mukim in Hulu Langat District in southeastern Selangor, Malaysia along the Kajang–Seremban road. It is southeast of downtown Kuala Lumpur and southeast of Kajang. Etymology The meaning of the name of the town is u ...

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. Before Lai died, she wanted to act one last time for her fans. Her godson, Bjarne Wong decided to honour her wish by directing '' Supermum'', which warm and joyful story-line was influenced by her optimistic personality. However before her scenes could be filmed, her health debilitated with a stroke. Instead, Eliza Wong, a Malaysian actress who called Lai her godmother, played Lai's role of the matriarch, and recorded messages from Lai were included throughout the movie. The movie was released on 30 May 2019, during the time of the year which usually occupied by summer blockbusters. This was done in conjunction with Parents' Day in Malaysia, and as well as a celebration of her first death anniversary.

Filmography

Awards and honours

In 1978, Lai was awarded the

Ahli Mangku Negara The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

of Malaysia of the time,

Sultan Yahya Petra Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

. In 2008, Lai was nominated for

for portraying an Alzheimer's-ridden mother

in 2008. In 2013, Lai was awarded the title of ‘Datuk’ by the

Sultan of Pahang Sultan of Pahang () is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignitie ...

. In 2017, Lai received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Malaysia Golden Global Awards for her various contributions to the Malaysian Chinese film industry.

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb name, 3003760 1928 births 2018 deaths Malaysian actresses Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm People from Johor