PETALING JAYA: Will Perak soon have the privilege of having Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh as its ambassador?

According to New Straits Times, Tourism Perak is hoping to have the Ipoh-born actress as the state’s ambassador.

Tourism Perak chief executive officer, Nurmalis Musa said they are still in the midst of negotiating with Yeoh.

“We are still negotiating with Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh to see how she can help us and what she can do, as she is an Ipoh-born.

“She might be able to be our CSR (corporate social responsibility) ambassador, as she is also an avid environmentalist,” she was quoted as saying.

Nurmalis explained that they approached Yeoh in March and are awaiting her feedback.

She added that a series of discussions will be held conducted by the state Tourism, Industry, Investment, and Corridor Development Committee chairman Loh Sze Yee with Yeoh and her management.

“Loh is determined to make this happen, and there will be discussions with her management,“ said Nurmalis, adding that by having Yeoh as the Perak Tourism ambassador, this would help promote Iph and Perak to the rest of the world.

Since starting off in a series of Hong Kong films in the 1990s, Yeoh, a former beauty queen, has come a long way in achieving international stardom. She has acted in various films and in various roles, and has been nominated for numerous awards and had won many.

Her early role in English films including the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) won her international acclaim and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) brought her a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) nomination.

She won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role in the comedy-drama film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ at the 95th Academy Awards in 2023.