Josephine Yoong: Does Integrity Have a Place for Christian Business Owners?

When Josephine Yoong met Lee Min Onn (an ex CBI board) it must have been by divine appointment.

After the author of the popular children’s book series, featuring “Timmy Tapir” which highlights good morals and integrity, was introduced to the Coalition for Business Integrity (CBI), the rest was history.

Since becoming a member of CBI in July 2016, Yoong has benefited a lot from the NGO, known for promoting business integrity in Malaysia. CBI is distinctive because it is a nonpartisan and apolitical body, not associated with any political parties, but deeply concerned about integrity in business as an autonomous environment. It has the support of well-known Christian leaders such as Dato’ Daniel Ho, but it is also non-religious, and serves as an ecumenical initiative for local business owners who are concerned about integrity in local business practises, regardless of race and religion.

“Instead of complaining, it is important to be part of an Integrity movement and be a catalyst for change in our society,” Yoong told Christianity Malaysia. She and her staff have helped CBI to organise roundtable discussions on business integrity in Penang, which attracted entrepreneurs from different industries. “We even had a former police officer and someone who was involved in smart farming joining our roundtable discussions. There is so much to learn from others in these meetings.”

To date, she has attended three virtual conferences organised by CBI during the COVID pandemic. Expressing her regrets that post the restrictive movement orders, CBI will now be emphasising on physical workshops and conferences.

Its upcoming conference on anti-corruption in the business world, “Supply Chain Governance in the Era of Globalisation”, will be held on May 18 at Dream Centre, Petaling Jaya.

“CBI should do this as a hybrid session, especially for members from outstation who are unable to attend,” she suggested. “Although the disadvantage of attending a virtual conference is the lack of opportunities for networking, there is still so much to learn from the speakers in the workshops.”

Encouraging More Christians

A member of Georgetown Baptist Church, Yoong urged more Christian business entrepreneurs to join CBI and support its vision to build integrity into their business systems.

“On its own, CBI is just a platform to connect business entrepreneurs who share the same vision to build business integrity in the marketplace,” she said.

“I find it awkward when Christians shy away from participation in an organisation that promotes integrity. If Christian businesses are not run with a high level of integrity, how can we make an impact in the marketplace and bear witness for Christ?”

To Yoong, it is not so much about ‘What’s there in CBI for me’, but about herself getting involved in a good cause to see change in the business landscape. “If we truly want to see change,” she reasoned, “Christians should have a strong presence through our participation in the integrity movement in the country.”

CBI, she added, has also provided her opportunities to promote each other’s businesses and build a network of business owners who believe in ethical business practices.

“Rather than feeling that we are all victims of a corrupt business system, and not being able to do anything about it, to begin with, we are able to network and support each other’s business.”

Christians, she added, should not feel passive about the world system, thinking that they will be handing it down to their children a corrupt business landscape.

“Often, we think that there is nothing we can do about the world,” she said. “If we are told to be the `salt and light of the world’, we better change our mindset or we will become obsolete in no time. By coming together, we can be a voice in the marketplace calling out to other business owners to conduct their businesses with integrity.”

At the very least, Yoong added, members would be able to gather insights from people in different industries. “It is a great way to learn from both the younger and older entrepreneurs based on their experiences,” she said. “This is why I do not wish to miss the upcoming conference despite it being held physically in Petaling Jaya.”

Activist, Author and Business Owner

Yoong is also the founder of a women’s entrepreneurial non-government organisation based in Penang. “WomenBiz is set up based on five core values – Support, Education, Networking, Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship, or in short, SENSE,” she said. “Since 2006, we have over 100 members now coming from various industries in Penang.”

Besides writing books herself, her publishing house has also published 25 local titles to date, including the latest title, “My Feelings” written by a teacher in Sabah, who wanted to empower children with words to express their emotions, especially post-Covid.

Other titles include “You Are Creative-Let Your Creativity Bloom” by Dr Yew Kam Keong, “Encounters in the Trysting Place” by Pastor Gilyean Levick and “The Mystery of the Missing Tapirs” by Patricia Chew.

Yoong also owns a retail business, both as a physical and virtual shop, known as Precious Pages Resources which is located at Codrington Road, Penang.

She also runs an education business Precious Star, which teaches children financial literacy and helps to develop the characters of young people based on integrity.