Cody Fu, who lived next door to Yeoh in Ipoh when he was five, says: “I remember my mom always wanted to spend time with her. I knew she was important because my mom called her Aunt Michelle Yeoh, not Aunt Michelle. I remember once asking her to play with her keychain and she let me, happy that the baby was busy while she chatted with my mom. She was basically the same as any other aunt.”