Kym Ng: Extremely small and incredibly loud

SINGAPORE – Think of Kym Ng and you will likely think of the terms “chili padi”, “livewire” and “firecracker”. (Incidentally, she feels she has a “Chinese New Year face” — but more on that later.)

That’s because this tiny but torrid torpedo is known for two things: Her top-notch hosting skills and her height — or rather, the lack thereof.

The four-time Star Awards Best Variety Show Host winner doesn’t just work the Mandarin channels; Ng now also has a regular gig on The 5 Show in a funny segment with Irene Ang, in which the pair go out shopping and eating. That’s on top of helming the upcoming third season of Shoppers’ Guide and the ongoing The Sheng Siong Show on Channel 8. Not forgetting, of course, her iconic performances in past variety shows such as City Beat and HDB Tai Tai.

After approximately 20 years in entertainment — with film, music and drama credits under her belt — Ng’s fire isn’t anywhere near burning out.

“I don’t know how to do anything else — and I need the money to buy Prada bags,” she quipped, adding that she has no plans for an early retirement “unless nobody wants to look at me any more”.

As for her famously small stature — well, suffice it to say that the most common thing people say when they meet her for the first time is: “Oh my goodness, you’re so short”.

But everyone knows that good things come in small packages, and whatever she lacks in centimetres, she more than makes up for in decibels. Heads snap up every time she steps into our newsroom, for instance. Kym Ng is loud — and we’re not just talking about the incendiary colour of her hair that alternates between shades of bright pink and platinum. What’s more, she can talk to anybody and everybody; and she’s especially excitable when talking about her passions: Sports, nail art and cooking.

HOW TO WIN KIDS AND INFLUENCE AUNTIES

“I’m not short, actually — it’s just that I keep meeting tall people,” wisecracked the fun-sized former flight attendant. (By the way, she measures 160cm; “sometimes 159, depending on the hour of the day,” she added.)

As it turns out, being vertically challenged is actually part of Ng’s secret to being universally loved. “There isn’t so much distance. You have to look up to tall people, right? People don’t have to look up to me. People just look at me,” she said. “I guess physically, I’m not so intimidating. And it’s easier to ‘cheat’ people because when you are very tall, you look older.

“I used to think being short (was a bad thing), but now, I think short is good,” she continued. “Not that I’m very short, lah — there are people who wear high heels and are still shorter than me. I don’t want to say who!”

As to why she is beloved by aunties and youngsters alike, Ng postulated that “maybe I’m quite cute”. “I guess it’s because when I talk to a kid, I become a kid. And when I talk to an ah ma” — she paused dramatically — “I also become a kid!” She laughed.

“I’ve got different voices — sometimes low, sometimes sweet.”

But don’t get her wrong. Ng is not the kind to act cute. “Go to Instagram and look at all those people and see who’s cuter than me,” she said. “It’s not so much about acting cute ... some people act high and mighty and it’s very hard to get along (with people like that).”

Nevertheless, Ng said mastering the art of conversation didn’t come naturally to her. “I used to be very much afraid of women who talked a lot — very expressive women. I felt they were very intrusive,” she said. “It took me a long time to get used to my job and I was always forcing myself to talk. After such a long time, it has become second nature.”

When she’s not working, though, Ng remains a self-proclaimed introvert. “As a person, I keep my distance when I interact with people,” she confessed. “I’m a friendly and polite person, but I’m not sociable at all. If you don’t talk to me, I will not make an effort to talk to you. I will not try and please you: ‘Hey, look at me. I’m quite a nice girl, leh. Want to be friends?’”

SINGAPORE’S SWEETHEART

In spite of that, people naturally want to be friends with Ng; especially audiences who relate to her grounded performances as aunties and mothers in dramas such as It Takes Two and Good Luck. In her next drama, which she will start work on in September, she takes on a similar character description. “I like playing very local roles; it feels more intimate,” she said. “I seem to always be working on dramas that air during Chinese New Year, so I guess I have a Chinese New Year face.”

“I’m very local and I’m very lian,” she added. “I don’t talk in a soft voice. I laugh very loudly. I can talk to anybody at the market — they treat me like one of them. I can be sloppy at times — I go out in slippers and shorts and I don’t really care. When I walk, I swing my arms. If I put on a nice mini dress, maybe I will ‘act classy’ a bit and walk like a model. But most of the time, I just walk! When I’m quiet, I look quite high-class, right? ‘This girl has poise’? But once I talk, that’s it —HDB Tai Tai already.”

And what are her preferred roles? “I prefer playing aunties — it’s easier. All you have to wear is a T-shirt, shorts, and no accessories — at most, a jade bangle. If you play a successful career woman, it’s this outfit, those earrings — every time you go out, you have to carry a lot of things. I am very lazy.”

Next year will mark Ng’s 20th anniversary in the business — not counting her prior singing career, which produced three albums and “quite nice music videos”. (We bugged her to put them on YouTube, and she said she would try to figure out how.)

The biggest lesson she has learnt all these years? “Stay beautiful! No, that’s a joke! I think whichever field you’re in, responsibility is very important. That includes being punctual. A lot of people — young people — are not,” she said, adding that having a sense of professionalism is a must. “if somebody asks you to perform a song, you jolly well make sure you remember the song and not perform holding a piece of paper. That’s very unprofessional. If you think you can’t remember the song, you just have to listen to it over and over — while driving, while washing dishes, even if you don’t sleep.

“Other people might sit around backstage laughing and then go up and do their thing, but you don’t know how much time they’ve spent preparing. If you haven’t prepared, don’t sit here and chit chat,” She continued: “Don’t say things like ‘I cannot remember’ or ‘I’m sick’ or ‘I’m not feeling well’ or ‘The words are very difficult’. I don’t think any of those are good excuses. It’s not right. I’m not saying you cannot make mistakes. But at least show that you have put in effort. You have to work for it.

“Of course, there are some people who do things naturally but that is accumulated experience. It doesn’t just come like that,” she added.

It takes work to light up a stage and spark audiences’ excitement. But Kym Ng, to her credit, makes it look effortless. Such that it’s hard to imagine what the local entertainment scene might be like without her.

CREDITS

Photography: Jason Ho

Makeup: Clarence Lee

Hair: Junz Loke, Passion Hair Salon

Dress, S$159 from H&M; shoes, artiste’s own; accessories, stylist’s own.