by Anishametra Saravanan

Standing at the back, from the left: Shermay and Zati. Sitting from the left: Rachel, Mazita and Myra.

I was greeted by the sounds of a cheerful bunch even before the Interior Design (ID) team stepped foot into the meeting room. Made up of 6 brilliant and boisterous women, YTL Construction’s ID team consists of Regina Myra Sampil Superio (Lead Interior Designer), Mazita Bt Mohamed Zainal Abidin (Lead Interior Designer), Shermay Hsiao Mei Tang (Senior Interior Design Manager), Zati Hanani Binti Zonkifle (Interior Design Manager), Rachel Shin Yi Wong (Senior Interior Designer) and Nur Diyana Binti Samsudin (Senior Interior Designer) who was on a solo hiking adventure of her own at the time of this interview. 

The team’s brief history can be traced back to 16 years ago. Despite having architects and external ID consultants, the YTL Group saw a need for an internal ID team to help with creative input on various major projects, including our late Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr) Yeoh Tiong Lay’s residence. Myra recollects her early days in YTL Construction, “It was tough starting from scratch as we did not have an ID library of resources, samples, suppliers and contacts.” Even with the challenges placed in her path, she persevered by recruiting like-minded individuals to form her troupe. The team joked they were initially hired as individual furniture and had found one another, forming a collective group of furniture through this alliance. Hence, the ID team was created and the rest, as many would say, is history. 

When asked what a typical day in the office would look like for them, Shermay says, “We do everything under the sun, or rather, under the roof.” From studying a place and brainstorming new ideas to creating proposals, cost evaluations, drawings, sourcing and site visits. Recently, the team upskilled themselves during the pandemic by taking up a 3D visualisation course to help them get a better understanding of structures that can be used for reference and guidance throughout the process of construction. It’s safe to say they go above and beyond their job description on a daily basis.   

Now, I bet you’re wondering; how do they check so many things off their to-do list?  

They credit their unwavering commitment and work ethic to the ones who lead the way for them. Being the first two to form the ID team, Myra and Mazita mentions how they were deeply impacted by Directors and their previous HOD who were never afraid to get their hands dirty. When figureheads lead by example, you can’t help but feel inspired and follow in their footsteps – it’s simply a YTL culture.

Although the team gets wrapped in multiple projects at once, they always set some time aside to check in with one another. They are especially fond of blowing off some steam by celebrating each other’s birthdays and they definitely do it in style.    

With many years spent working together, it’s clear that they value and appreciate each other as team members, mentors, colleagues and most importantly, friends. In the short span of time I spent talking to them, they expressed the importance of setting precedence in your work and uplifting one another when the going gets tough. An amazing group of women with great zest for life that work and play hard, the ID team is truly a force to be reckoned with.