Money’s about control, walking away was easy: Khoo Kay Peng’s daughter

PETALING JAYA: The daughter of Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Peng has revealed that her parents' bitter £64 million (RM357 million) divorce was "about control" rather than money. She said walking away from money for love was easy.
Speaking to two newspapers in England, Angeline Francis Khoo said she was no longer on speaking terms with her tycoon father who is the non-executive chairman of England's fashion and furnishing company, Laura Ashley Holdings.
She told The Telegraph that she walked away from the family business and any financial support to marry a man of whom he did not approve.
Angeline, 34, said she had no idea about the scale of her father's wealth until it was disclosed in court. Her 78-year-old father was ordered to pay his 70-year-old ex-wife, former Malaysian beauty queen Pauline Chai, £64 million (RM355 million) to settle their long-running divorce row this April.
"In these situations with so much money often people are, like, 'I don't get it. Why are they fighting over so much?'," Angeline was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.
"But it's not really about the money, it's about control and losing that control. That's something that a lot of people can't grasp because you're discussing finances way beyond your basic needs."
Angeline made an allegation against her father of domestic violence, while he claimed that she was "dishonest and manipulative".
The estranged daughter said she met her husband, Caribbean-born data scientist Jedidiah Francis, while studying at Oxford. She said her father refused to her his blessing for their marriage.
"I believed Dad's stance was wrong, so there was no question about what was right," she told the Mail on Sunday's You magazine.
"I've been fortunate to have that perspective: you can have money and it's a blessing; it allows you to do things and gives you options, but there are also things that come with it, such as control.
"Money amplifies negative characteristics and that can cause problems. To walk away from that was actually very easy. I didn't even consider it."
Until that point, Angeline said, she was Laura Ashley heiress.