WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden is set to bestow internationally acclaimed Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh (pix) with the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on May 3.
Yeoh’s movie credits include global hits such as 007’s “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”, “Memoirs of a Geisha”, “Mummy 3”, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and the soul-stirring biopic “The Lady”.
Past recipients of the medal include Mother Teresa, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Stephen Hawking, Sidney Poitier, Yo-Yo Ma, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Audrey Hepburn and Henry Kissinger, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Neil Armstrong, Jacques Cousteau, Duke Ellington, Tiger Woods and Rosa Parks among others.
However, it is understood that Yeoh has yet to confirm the May 3 date due to her numerous commitments.
The award is bestowed under a presidential decision to recognise people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” — BY JOSHUA PURUSHOTMAN
