Kou Voravong
Kou Voravong grew up in Savannakhet and pursued a primary education there. He obtained the « certificat d'études primaires complémentaire indochinois » - Certificate of Indochinese Additional Primary Studies - (CEPCI) in 1930, went afterward to Vientiane and began his first-secondary-school year at the Collège Auguste Pavie. But because of a conflict which opposed him to French Colonial administration, his adopted father was sentenced to prison that same year. As reaction to this situation, Kou Voravong left school and returned to Savannakhet. As an out-of-school teenager, he practiced sports, especially soccer.
Ho Kwon Ping
Ho was born in Hong Kong but lived his childhood years in Thailand where his father, Ho Rih Hwa, was Singapore's Ambassador to the country. He was educated in Thailand, Taiwan, USA and Singapore. He went on to Tunghai University in Taiwan where the exposure to Chinese culture left a deep impact on him. After a year in Taiwan, he left for Stanford University in the United States. After returning to Singapore, he did his national service as a combat engineer. He later studied at the National University of Singapore, where he graduated in economics and history with a silver medal awarded by the Singapore Employers' Federation for being the second most outstanding student in the final year examination.