Malaysian Media Icons
For many years, Malaysia has been producing amazing media icons widely ranging from sports to even fashion. Today, we will be talking about our own personal favourites of Malaysian media icons, as well as to the reason behind us looking up to them.
Vickey
Malaysian Media Icons are not just known to Malaysians, we have a pretty fair amount of recognition from all over the world. For example, Dato’ Lee Chong Wei, our Malaysian favourite badminton player, P. Ramlee, the ever-amazing Malaysian singer-song writer as well as a talented actor who is no stranger to directing his own films, Yuna, our Malaysian singer-song writer sweetheart and et cetera. You get the point. However, I would like to direct the spot light to a different notable young lady from those already well-recognised celebrities. Cheong Jun Hoong, would be the lucky woman who will be snatching this spotlight for the next few minutes.
Cheong Jun Hoong, if you did not know her already, she is a Malaysian Diver who recently brought back an astounding Gold from the 17th FINA World Championships held in Hungary, making her the first ever world-champion Malaysian diver in the 10 m platform event. This is not just what she has achieved for Malaysia. Jun Hoong too attended the 2016 Summer Olympics with Pandelela Rinong, bringing back a silver medal for the synchronised 10 m diving event.
Her love for water sports started at a very young age, 4, and began receiving actual training for diving at the age of 9. Just at the age of 14, Bukit Jalil Sports School offered her a spot because of her prodigy-like performance in aquatic sports. However, she was not always a gold medalist. Jun Hoong climbed from bronze and slowly made herself a Gold. Which is truly inspiring.
It is not just her achievements that captivates me, her resilience is incredible. Everyone knows how hard it is to beat the mainland Chinese in any sorts of competition due to their competitive nature. However, Jun Hoong did not back down because of her terrifying competitions, in this case, the former world champion, Si Yajie of China, as well as Jun Hoong still recovering from back pain. She held up high and much higher than the Chinese and gave her best that resulted in the Gold medal. That is truly amazing in my opinion, it is not everyday that you can win a competition with the Chinese in it.
Her legacy will most definitely be something significant to the young Malaysians, aspiring to be something much bigger and better, allowing Malaysia to be a greater country than it already is. Her alone shows just with effort and passion, your dreams will and can bring you anywhere, even to the extent of winning the Chinese in competitions.
This amazing 27 year old did not win gold just because of her talent and hard work. She won both my respect and Malaysia’s love for her.
Fun fact : She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communications.
Peicen
My favourite local Malaysian media icon is NurShahilia binti Amir Amzah (Xila) . Although she is Malay but she can sing Mandarin songs. She tries really hard in learning mandarin. I first knew her from the entertainment show ( I am a singer (Season 2 ). Her singing voice is powerful and absolutely stunning, this really made her stand out from all the other contestants. I feel so proud of her, when she was on the international stage and singing, she represented our country and allowed everyone who watches the show recognise her and our country —Malaysia. Regardless of the nationality of the audiences, they cheered loudly for her wonderful performance and this made me feel so proud of her. To me, she is a learning role model i need to look up to.She really picked up Mandarin since young an therefor during the speaks and pronounced the mandarin language really well.There are many singers who look up to her but she is not arrogant at all ; when she is losing in the competition, she will not to be discouraged. Xila makes me proud, after she finish her performance , audience and international examine give good comments and remarks to her . I will start learning Xila's brave fighting spirit. I also consider her as my roles-model because her voice connects our Malaysian hearts.
Then, my next favorite local Malaysian media icon is Namewee . He is a songwriter and a malaysian hip-hop artist. Previously, he became our country government branch a thorn in one’s side. Now he is famous throughout the whole Asia. He also directed a few movie before which represented the three races in Malaysia — Malay, India, Chinese. In his few songs he produced , some appealed to Malaysians and really represents this country in a whole as a country full of happiness. For example, Nasi Lemak 2.0 in 2011 is for the purpose of advocate patriotic spirit . When he was invited to attend a prize-winning event, he draped Malaysia's flag on stage while receiving the prize. When our national athletes win in sports competition, he will write a song to praise the athlete. The patriotic song he sing still makes me feel excited and proud to be a Malaysian. I am proud of him, because he has innate skill in Malaysian songs. Namewee also wrote a few songs for another foreign famous singer to sing.He made me to become aware that I should always be thankful and proud of my country and also proud to be a Malaysian. I consider him as my role-model because he had contributed to our country, he makes Malaysian more rally.
There are many Malaysia media icons who became very famous now and I hope they will continue to be better in the future.
Jack
TheMingThing. A YouTube channel formed by a team which post comedy videos and short sketches.They have over 4 hundred thousand subscribers on their YouTube channel. This team is pioneered by Ming Han, Ming Yue, Bryan Lim and Rafi Th’ng and the team grew from there till this day. It all started when Ming Han posted a video, ‘Asian Student Parking’ on 15 November 2011 and from there, TheMingThing fan base has been growing, mostly in the Southeast Asia region. Their most known video would be “Your Accent From Where” which have more than 2 million views. They have also started their own production house in the year 2013 named ‘CORE Studios’.
TheMingThing had a small start towards their career. From only Ming Han talking to the camera, commenting on his school’s bad traffic, then to getting a YouTube partnership and now, one of the most famous YouTubers in Malaysia. Building from such a small team to what they are now really takes a great amount of courage, perseverance, determination, persistence and faith. They have always made videos with great content. Content that either very funny, or content that will make you stop and think about the little little things in life. That’s what I love about them. For example, the videos that I love the most for humour is ‘Types Of Sneezes’; the short skit to celebrate Merdeka (independence day) 2015 ‘Janji Kita Tahu’ made me think about what is the meaning of being a Malaysian. They will definitely remembered for their humour and their generosity in producing video content which inspired me to create new and meaningful content.
I came across TheMingThing in the year 2013 when I was just 14 years old. Since then, I have been following their activities on social media until this day. They have been my inspiration for content writing and they made me want to improve more of myself in terms of creating media content.
Despite all the fame they are getting from media, they are all very humble people. The way they treat their friends, fans, staff and even interns is just amazing. The way they act in front of the camera and behind the camera is the same; the same funny character that everyone loves. There are a few times where i met them in person, they actually remembered some of the names of their fans. This character of them really made me look up to them even more than before.
On the other hand, being funny and humorous in their video, they still hold their own sets of values in their video content writing. YouTube channels nowadays uses girls to gain attention and gain views by portraying girls wearing little clothing, which sadly works for them. That’s the reason why some content writers are focused on how to make an actor or actress look more arousing but not focused on the content itself anymore. Personally, I think this is such a shame to all content writers. In order for TheMingThing to be one of the famous media icon without compromising to any of this techniques is really something to be appreciated. That’s what separates them from other media icons in the media.
I aspire to be like them in the future, making videos with humour but at the same time making content that would touch lives and inspire other people. Having production house is also one of the things that they have inspired me to have. Knowing their back story, really encouraged me to walk away from the norm and take up what I’m truly passionate about in my life.
Ning
Datuk Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat OBE., born on the 15th of November 1948. Started since young at the age of 11, following the footsteps on his father, made his legacy today. He is not only a famous Malaysian fashion designer, he is also the man behind Jimmy Choo Ltd (founded in 1996), that it became well known for its handmade women’s shoes. The brand itself acclaims to be a luxurious brand as it has dressed many celebrities and royalty. He also conferred an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his services to the shoe and fashion industry in the UK. His career further boosted when he received support from Princess Of Wales Lady Diana where she wore Choo’s shoes everywhere. His career then took another leap when Vogue realized his potential.
Not to mention that he won numerous awards for its products. On the other hand, he is not only a designer, but also a teacher. He places good emphasis on education by attending talks to give speeches and shares his trade secrets to pupil.
As the fashion industry is always constantly evolving, it is not easy to keep up with what is ‘on trend’. From a company that started mainly focusing on handmade ladies footwear, it had grew bigger to selling handbags, fragrances and accessories. However, I admire how Jimmy Choo shoes has its own particular style and design. His classy and elegant design does not go out of style. Even though the brand itself had made a stand in the fashion industry, I like how the company still insist on producing “handmade” quality shoes, in order to maintain the quality comfort and its originality. His determination makes me realize how important it is to make a stand on what I want and what I believe in. If I myself vary from my own stance, it’s a piece of cake for my opponent to knock me down.
Also, some of his advice are great to live by. One of the example is to “Follow your instinct and think out of the box.” Which I believe it’s true, a person can only be noticed if only dared to be different. Reminds me that I always have to give in and put effort in everything I do. Because opportunities are only given to those who strive for it. I believe he will be remembered for his success by proving how determination and hard work can bring a person go far.
Owning my first pair of Jimmy Choo shoes made me had recognition over this brand and the founder himself. He made me realize that if an individual is determined and talented, will soon be discovered.
Ilyas
My favourite local Malaysian media icon would be Tan Sri Tony Fernandas. He is currently the Non-independent Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Airasia. Fernandas now is ranked number 28 on the Forbes list of Malaysia’s Richest with a net worth of $650 millon. The famous tagline “Now everyone can fly” is very well known to people locally as well as abroad. Airasia was initially in the taught of the young aged Fernandas after a brief conversation with his father. He announced that he will start an airline and his father replied “ if you make past the doorman of Hilton, I will be happy”. Well, the young Fernandas held on to his father’s words and of course he surely did make past the doorman of Hilton and then did not stop there. The very determined Fernandas studied at Epsom College in England then continued graduating with a degree in accounting at the London School of Economics. Before Airsia was brought up, Fernandas had many working experiences including working under Richard Branson in Virgin Atlantic to being an executive in Warner Music Malaysia. Fernandas then took a big risk buying over an existing airline under the advise of former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Muhammad. Fernandas has a very good grasp of finance and he is an accountant by training and good at numbers. Back then, the airline company was heavily indebted and was losing money. Remembering Fernandas’ dream, he mortgaged his home and used up all his personal savings for the company, comprising two Boeing 737-300 jets and debts of US$11 millon, for one ringgit, and transformed it into an industry player. He believed that one does not need to become accountants, but we all need is a good understanding of accounting and finance to run a successful company. Fernandas has also very bold visions. Tony Fernandas has a bold, global and long range vision for his various companies. As a child, he dreamt of three things, running an airline, owning an English football club and owning a Formula One racing team. Respectively now he is running Airasia, chairman of Queens Park Rangers and founder of the Caterham F1 Formula One team. In my opinion, Fernandas has inspired me in many ways. Fernandas drives me to be more determined in what I am doing. Fernandas was quoted by the Borneo Post as saying nothing is impossible to achive as long as there is determination. He turned around an unprofitable and small airline company with only two airplanes to one that now has a 160- strong fleet og aircraft in only 12 years. Fernandas has passion in what he is doing and that can really impress me as well as the public. In this context, passion seems to be a common dominator among achievers in business, the arts, sports and other fields. Tony Fernandas hires his employees with passion. To add, he exceptionally passionate, not only about his firms, charities and employees, but also about sports. The multi- millionaire owns a football team in England, an F1 racing team and is a major supporter of Asia’s biggest mixed martial arts sport, the OneFC. Lastly, one of the things that he does that is very different from the others is he os one of the first CEOs to harness the social media to market AirAsia. He uses the power of social media to sell tickets and market his airline. On Twitter, he does an average of 10 tweets a day. This is because he believes in involving himself in the day- today functioning of an airline.
