KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — It is a divorce billed as the battle between a billionaire and his former beauty queen wife.
At stake is half of Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng’s estimated family fortune of at least £440 million (RM2.4 billion).
But ex-Miss Malaysia Pauline Chai said it is an experience she would rather not go through, calling the divorce from her husband of 44 years a difficult period in her life.
‘I never wanted to divorce’
Although marriage with Khoo was purportedly “difficult”, Chai told Malay Mail Online that divorce was not an option for her, citing her Catholic upbringing and her desire for her marriage to be for life.
“Though KP had been married once before and divorced, marriage to me was for life. My parents’ marriage lasted until they died and that is something I always wanted,” the 68-year-old Ipoh-born said in an email interview, adding that she knew she had to “stay strong and committed” to the marriage for the sake of her five children.
“I never wanted to divorce,” Chai said, but added that it eventually became untenable to continue the marriage after over forty years together with the now 76-year-old Khoo.
Chai said she had tried “very hard” to save their marriage, but efforts by various marriage counsellors failed to stop the divorce, saying: “We have tried to resolve our differences and tried to come to a mutual understanding for many years but it did not work out.”
Media spotlight, private life
Unprepared for the public airing of family affairs and intense media interest, Chai said she would have preferred an amicable and fair divorce settlement out of courts, saying that her family has always kept a “low profile” and “led a very private life”.
“I have always been a homebody and enjoy cooking and gardening and my life has always centred around the 5 children and their well-being. So it was completely shocking there’s been so much interest in the divorce,” she said.
“I am very proud of my children; they love and support one another. They’ve handled the stress and media attention with maturity and graciousness,” she said of her five children now aged between 27 and 43.
Chai takes “one day at a time” now, with her children and friends’ support helping her to stay strong through this difficult time, also citing her “faith in God” as helping her to cope with the stress from the divorce.
Chai said she has grown closer with her children as they grew up, saying: “Now we are very close and they have been my greatest source of encouragement and comfort during this divorce.”
Married life: A mother and wife
By Chai’s own accounts, she was a mother deeply involved in the raising of her five children largely on her own.
“I therefore had to take the role of mum and dad. It was difficult as I looked after the children without help from nannies since my youngest son was 10. I was a very hands-on mum, driving the kids to school and all their after-school lessons and sports. I would cook daily and I helped with their school fundraising,” she said.
Chai also related of how she took care of her husband, including cooking his favourite dishes, playing the type of music he likes on the piano, packing and unpacking his travel bags, meeting him at the door when he came home regardless of the hour at night.
She said she also provided round-the-clock care for him when he had a stroke.
On top of that, Chai said she chaired Laura Ashley’s Fashion Committee for several years when Khoo took over the fashion and home furnishings brand, also advising on the renovation and refurbishment of several Corus Hotels — a hotel chain owned by Khoo.
A fair share
Chai believes that she is merely seeking her “fair” share of the wealth built up during her 42 years of marriage with Khoo prior to seeking a divorce.
“I believe 50/50 is fair because we were partners in the marriage. Without me looking after the home, KP would not have been able to be so successful in his businesses. It’s hard for people to understand it’s a principle of fairness when there are large sums involved.
“We built our wealth up together and we should share it when we part. This equality between breadwinner and homemaker is the modern approach to finances on divorce and the one applied by the courts in England where I live,” the homemaker said, referring to the business tycoon by his initials.
Chai is seeking to have the divorce dispute decided by the UK courts - which recognises non-financial contributions from spouses and usually start with a 50/50 split, while Khoo wants the dispute settled in Malaysia, which typically gives a smaller share to wives as they are considered to have lower earning ability.
The UK courts decided in October 2014 that the divorce should be heard there, while the Kuala Lumpur High Court later contradicted that decision with its November 2014 ruling that Malaysia could hear the divorce.
The actual divorce cases in both Malaysia and the UK have yet to start, as both Khoo and Chai are still appealing in both countries on which court is the best forum to hear and decide on their divorce case.
