Growing up, Dick Yong had no idea he had undiagnosed dyslexia. And when he matched the traits and personalities of one, everything finally made sense. Today, he is on a constant mission to raise dyslexia awareness in the community and even globally.
Raising dyslexia awareness across the world
Describing his life with dyslexia, Dick Yong said that it is like a blind person going to a shopping mall for the first time — hard. But it does get easier the next time, he said.
“By the 10th time, they are accustomed to walking around the mall.”
The same is true for someone who has dyslexia. The struggles are real, especially when it comes to reading and understanding. For Yong, it takes time for him to understand a sentence. However, the disability does not prevent a dyslexic from reaching their destination.
“They’d still get there in the end. Like a blind person wandering through a shopping mall. We might be slow, but we’d get there in the end. What matters is that we figure out how to work around it,” said the 40-year-old.
Yong recalled having some tough times at school when he was younger. And, as a dyslexic child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), he described himself as a mischievous boy.
Nevertheless, the ‘mischievous boy’ discovered his passion in sports and went on to represent both his school and Sarawak. After achieving success in sports, Yong felt motivated to do well in his academic endeavours. Despite the challenges he encountered, his determination at the age of 16 enabled him to complete his studies with flying colours.
“Then, when it came to A Levels, I struggled because I realised that the strategies I used to study for my secondary school examinations would not work. Back then, memorising was enough to pass any exam. But as I started pre-university, I learned that the exams involved more analytical work, so I struggled to keep up, though I managed to pass,” Yong said.
Never really understood the struggles in life, Yong, as a child, would often wonder why he didn’t know how to do certain things. And when he wanted to learn something, he had to learn how to do it differently than his peers.
“Despite the difficulties, I was able to go into finance and economics at university. That’s when I learnt people with dyslexia get extra time on examinations. And I’m like, what is this? I also want more time, which is when I discovered that I possess all of the traits and personalities that define a dyslexic. It was then that I realised, finally, everything made sense.”
Starting an initiative
As documented on his social media — Instagram and Facebook @ridefordyslexia — Yong is hoping to help the local dyslexia community now that he has a better understanding of himself and what it means to be diagnosed with dyslexia.
“When I returned in 2016, the Dyslexia Association of Sarawak needed funds to build a new centre on land given by the state government. So I figured why not help by raising awareness and donations for them at the same time?” he said, adding that after he returned, he became a member of the association.
Yong said that the idea was for him to travel the world on his bike while advocating for dyslexia and stopping at each country’s education ministry. He disclosed that the initiative had raised enough funding for the association to build the centre. Part of the funds were raised by corporates, government-linked companies, embassies, and the Sarawak state government, all of which were aware of his ‘Ride for Dyslexia’ initiative.
“I am glad that the ‘Ride for Dyslexia’ mission was successful as part of the initiative launched by former President Dr Ong Puay Hoon to raise awareness of the disorder and gather funding for the dyslexia community,” he added.
Started in 2019, Yong rode for two and a half years before returning home in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started from Kuala Lumpur. Then I rode to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, and down to Iran.
“I crossed the sea from Iran to the the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Then I took a ship to Turkey and Europe. So I travelled to Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, and Rotterdam.”
Ride for Dyslexia
During his trip, the venture capitalist said to have seen both the good and the ugly. He sees that in certain countries, there is no awareness of dyslexia, let alone knowledge of the disorder.
“Between 2018 and 2019, I travelled to less developed countries such as Pakistan and Laos and discovered that they have no idea what dyslexia is. The government was unaware that such conditions existed in children. I went to their Ministry of Education or schools to spread awareness, and I established a training programme there.”
In addition to these two countries, Yong visited several schools and refugee camps in Cambodia and Nepal. He spoke with the principal and briefed them on dyslexia. He also volunteered to teach the children in the refugee camps.
Despite numerous challenges and hurdles, Yong was determined to continue his journey at the time. He also mentioned that his bike had broken down several times.
“And because my motorbike is a BMW model, not many countries had the parts or skills to repair it. So I brought my tools and taught myself how to repair it. When there were no spare parts available, I had to have them shipped to me.”
Now back in Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur, the Kuching native has a new aim. Under his company ‘X-Private Estate Group’, Yong’s next goal is to create a portfolio of hospitality real estate for people to visit places he has seen that few people know about.
“Using a bike to travel around the world allows me to see and experience new places and things. I get to see what others don’t normally see. Many of the places I saw were unique, so I want to return to these places to build a platform for people to visit.”
Yong is currently overseeing the development of his upcoming hotel on Perhentian Island, Besut District, Terengganu. Concurrently, his second project is being developed in a Thai national park.
When asked what lessons he had learned from his time abroad, Yong shared many experiences.
“Every religion in the world teaches its followers to be good. Unfortunately, some individuals preach hatred in the name of religion. The less prosperous the country, the kinder the people are. In many places, the media exaggerates minor issues.”
