TAIPING: Fishing village Kuala Sepetang folks are proud of Ng Yon Wui, who shines at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) as the inventor of the flying taxi helicopter.

The low-altitude aircraft was on display at WAIC held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre recently.

Ng, from Kuala Sepetang, a fishing village about 15 km from Taiping, developed the flying taxi helicopter known as E20 eVTOL, an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft which was on display at WAIC.

Ng has been an entrepreneur in China for 16 years. His company, Time Technologies, has been operating in Shanghai for nearly five years.

Kuala Sepetang Village Development and Security Committee chairperson Felicia Ooi Ai Heong said : “We are extremely proud of Ng’s achievement and we wish him all the best in coming up with more products which benefit people, scale new heights at the international platform,’’ she said.

Confirming Ng was born in the fishing village, Ooi said she did not know Ng but the parents were her former employer.

She was working part time for the printing company as a student then.

Ooi said Ng did not stay in Kuala Sepetang for long. The family moved to Sitiawan many years ago but Ng’s uncles and other relatives are still residing in Kuala Sepetang. One of them is running a coffee shop.

It was also reported that Ng studied in SJK(C) Hua Lian 2 in Taiping for several years before relocating to Sitiawan.

Chinese primary school Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Poay Eng in Kuala Sepetang shared the video of Ng’s interview to motivate pupils in the school.

He is seen as the role model for pupils in a fishing village. 

Ng has been invited to attend the 2025 ASEAN AI Business Summit organised by The Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia on September 12.