Early Career
A Hakka, Yong received early education at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, and at the Downing College, Cambridge, where he developed close friendships with two of his Singaporean schoolmates, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wife, Kwa Geok Choo. He was made an Exhibitioner, and an Associate Fellow in his college years. Yong did exceptionally well, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Law Qualifying I: Class 1; Law Tripos I: Class 2, Division 2; Law Tripos II: Class 2, Division 1) in 1949, and with a Bachelor of Law (Class 2, Division 1) in 1950. In 1970 he furthered his education with the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Upon graduation, he was called to the English Bar by the Inner Temple in 1951. He returned to his hometown as an Advocate and Solicitor of Malaya in 1952, practising law as a partner at Shook Lin & Bok, a law firm founded by his late father until his retirement from practice in 1970. During this period he also served in 1953 as the Arbitrator appointed by the Governor of Singapore to resolve the dispute between the Government and the General Clerical Services and Telecommunications workers. He was also admitted into the Singapore Bar in 1964 and appointed the role as Chairman of the Public Services Arbitration Tribunal in Malaya from 1955 to 1960, and as a Chairman of the Industrial Court in Malaysia between 1961 to 1967. He also had commercial powers invested upon him as Chairman of the now-defunct Malaysia-Singapore Airlines between 1964 and 1969, and as Deputy Chairman, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) between 1966 and 1971.
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