Not many people can lay claim to being friends for more than 50 years. So when Datuk Lai Meng and Yap Chin Fong arrive in our studio for the photoshoot, they were like little children at their favourite playground, posing effortlessly as they offered each other support.
Aunty Meng, 88, and Uncle Fong, 68, first met on the set of Empat Sekawan, a multi-dialect TV series about the day-to-day lives of four friends that was presented in Mandarin, Hakka, Hokkien and Cantonese.
“We used to call him sai lou gor (little kid), as he was only in his teens when he joined the cast. Now, I still think of him as a kid as he is much younger than me,” shares Aunty Meng, as she playfully asks for ice-cream which is her favourite dessert.
Uncle Fong adds: “I may have joined the cast later, but they quickly made me feel at home. Before long, I was part of the happy family.”
No doubt, the series has a strong presence. Mention Empat Sekawan today, and most people are familiar with the hit sitcom that ran from 1966 to 1988. However, many may not be privy to the fact that Empat Sekawan actually began during pre-Merdeka days as a radio show.
It was recorded in a makeshift studio in Kuala Lumpur, and broadcast to the New Villages settlements. (These were settlements created during the last days of British rule.)
The radio show was so well-received that it evolved into an even more popular television show. The series known as Sei Hei Lam Mun in Cantonese, starring four friends – Lai Meng, Hon Ying, Hoi Yong and Wong Hor. Fong played one of the children in the show.
Hoi Yong and Wong Hor passed away in the 1970s, while Hon Ying has been living a reclusive lifestyle away from the prying eyes of the public since her retirement from acting.
The series itself ran its course and ended in 1988. But that did not stop Aunty Meng and Uncle Fong from continuing to perform.
Life after Empat Sekawan brought them opportunities in countless stage shows, hundreds of television dramas and scores of films in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.
Local drama and movie fans will attest to seeing them in roles that are as varied as they come. Uncle Fong was a toothless wheelchair-bound senior in one drama, and then a spear-wielding kung fu sifu in another.
As for Aunty Meng, at the age of 81, she scored a nomination at Taiwan’s prestigious 45th Golden Horse Awards (2008) for her role as a neglected Alzheimer’s patient in Jack Neo’s Money No Enough 2. She is the third Malaysian actress to achieve such a feat, after Datuk Michelle Yeoh and Lee Sinje.
The two veterans have also been bestowed many awards for their long service and contribution to the Malaysian and Chinese entertainment industry.
They are both recipients of Ntv7 Golden Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award: Aunty Meng in 2010 and Uncle Fong in 2012.
In 2013, Aunty Meng received Datukship from the Sultan of Pahang while Uncle Fong was honoured with the Anugerah Tokoh Seni YA1M (1Malaysia Artistes Foundation) 2013.
“We both love performing, so we will continue acting and welcome new projects, as long as people still want to hire us,” says Aunty Meng, adding that they are both busy with shooting short films, feature-length movies and TV dramas.
During our chat, they also reminisced about “the good old days” when people did not get paid much for their labour.
According to them, the salary could range from RM120 a month for performing with a travelling singing troupe to RM10 each for a 30-minute recording session for the radio programme Empat Sekawan.
Aunty Meng says she never dreamt of being a star. “Entertainment work didn’t pay much in those days, but we never cared about the money. We really enjoyed performing, and being paid to have so much fun was truly a bonus.”
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