KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has congratulated Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh for winning the Academy Award for Best Actress.

"The Government joins the nation in expressing warmest and heartiest congratulations to Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh for winning the highly coveted Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles today,” he wrote on Facebook.

"This achievement greatly uplifts our country’s name on the international stage.”

He highlighted that the Ipoh-born actress was the first Southeast Asian to win the prestigious award.

"...we take enormous proud in her achievement, adding to a long list of successes and capping a critically acclaimed acting career spanning decades.”

He also hoped that Yeoh’s accomplishment would be a great inspiration and motivation to homegrown actors and actresses. besides providing an even greater impetus to the growth of our local industry.

The 60-year-old became the first Malaysian to win an Oscar for Best Actress for her role as dimension-hoping laundromat owner Evelyn Quan in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The science-fiction adventure film dominated the night, taking home seven awards including Best Picture and Best Director.