By : SHARIFAH ARFAH

2008/06/29

Radio-friendly Daughtry is nominated in the Breakthrough Artiste category.

Over 50 local and international artistes will be honoured at the MTV Asia Awards event to be held in the highlands. SHARIFAH ARFAH writes.

Once again, Siti Nurhaliza is nominated in the Favourite Artist Malaysia category.

THE MTV Asia Awards will be held at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands on Aug 2. More than 50 local and international nominees are being honoured at Asia’s biggest pan-regional music event. There will be 16 categories — 10 of which is to be determined by MTV viewers’ votes in the Favourite Artistes category and six honorary awards for international artistes.

Nominees for the Favourite Artiste categories consist of the movers and shakers in the local music industry as well as the most popular international artistes in Asia.

Honorary awards will be presented by MTV Asia in recognition of key industry figures and trendsetters for fashion, music, video and live performances, to how the artistes market themselves.

For the regional categories, Asia’s hot favourites Stefanie Sun (Singapore) and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia) have been nominated yet again.
The excitement will to build as performers and awards presenters are announced in the coming weeks, culminating in a spectacular night where winners will be announced before to a live audience and televised to millions of homes in Asia.

Leading up to the awards, there will be fabulous contests and events planned around the show.

Vote for your favourite artiste and international artiste online or over your mobiles and you (and a friend) could win an all-expense paid trip to the MTV Asia Awards 2008 in Genting Highlands.

Go to the official website at www.mtvasiawards.com or the WAP site at wap.mtvasia.com/maa to vote.

Voters can also SMS their choice to 33776 (for Malaysian voters only) following the format MAA “Artist code” (available on the website).

A new exciting dimension of the awards will be the “So You Wanna Be A Presenter” contest.

Send in a video of how your local nominees should be presented at the MTV Asia Awards 2008 to the official website by July 13. The wackiest video from each market will be aired live at the awards show and the ultimate video will win an all-expense paid VIP trip for two to the awards.

Other exciting activities in the coming weeks are the Mosh-Pit auditions, as well as a roadshow.

The audition will be held at Zouk in Kuala Lumpur on July 19 from 6 to 9pm, while the roadshow will be held at Cineleisure Damansara on July 19-20, from noon onwards.

The latest updates on the MTV Asia Awards 2008 can be found on the official website at www.mtvasiaawards.com and WAP site at wap.mtvasia.com/maa.

Fans can also visit the official website for more information on awards-related contests and events.

Official partner sponsors for the MTV Asia Awards 2008 are edc by Esprit, Tourism Malaysia and Genting - City of Entertainment. The MTV Asia Awards 2008 is unleashed in Malaysia by Xpax.

source: the new straits times

* THE hilly residential area in Ampang, Selangor, is about to receive our local darlingof the entertainment industry, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza.

Rumours are rife that the multiple award-winning singer is moving in to her new home with her husband-businessman Datuk Seri Khalid Mohamad Jiwa.

Sources have confirmed that a posh bungalow is undergoing renovation.

Siti was recently named Best Female Vocalist for Performance in an Album at the recent Anugerah Industri Muzik 15, her ninth win of the award to date.

source: the new straits times

By : Hafidah Samat

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Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Faizal Tahir with their awards at the Anugerah Industri Muzik at Putra World Trade Centre last night.

KUALA LUMPUR: Singer and TV personality Faizal Tahir scored big at this year’s Anugerah Industri Muzik, held to honour the creme de’ la creme of the music industry.

This is the first major AIM victory bagged by a reality TV show talent.

Faizal, who is the product of 8TV’s One In A Million, took home awards for Best New Artiste, Best Male Vocal Performance in an Album and Best Rock Album much to the delight of fans at Dewan Merdeka in Putra World Trade Centre last night.

In his acceptance speech, Faizal thanked his fans and expressed his ambition to raise the local music scene to greater heights.

Faizal, who was up for AIM awards in six categories, also won the much-coveted Album of the Year award for his debut album, Aku. Muzik. Kamu.

Hadiah Dari Hati by the industry’s darling, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, was named Best Pop Album. Siti was also the jury’s choice for Best Female Vocal Performer (In an Album).

Eclecticism by newcomer Melissa Indot and Maulana by Rabbani won Best Local English Album and Best Nasyid Album, respectively.

Multiple award winning composer/producer Fauzi Marzuki was bestowed the prestigious Anugerah Wirama for his lifetime dedication to the music industry.

Fauzi, who started playing music at age 12, has collaborated with the country’s A-list singers, including Sheila Majid and Jamal Abdillah.

Rock/hip pop outfit Pop Shuvit received the Anugerah Kembara for its ground-breaking brand of music, which has carved a niche among fans in Japan.

One in a Million winner Suki was named the Most Promising Artiste.

Entertainment was by this year’s nominees, who performed in various segments, including Warisan and Tribute. They were backed by musicians led by composer Audrey Suwito.

In its 15th year, the AIM awards was hosted by actor/film director Afdlin Shauki and singer/actress Adibah Noor.

The two-and-a-half-hour award ceremony was aired “live” over ntv7, Hot.fm and Fly.fm.

AWARD WINNERS
Best New Artiste — Faizal Tahir
Most Promising Artiste — Suki
Best Vocal Performance In An Album (Male) — Faizal Tahir (Aku. Muzik. Kamu)
Best Vocal Performance In An Album (Female)— Datuk Siti Nurhaliza (Hadiah dari Hati)
Best Album Cover — Designer Jenny Sun (After
Best Engineered Album — After 8
Best Music Video Director — Sean Chan (album Sangkar)
Best Ethnic Pop Album — Melodi Ahlaan (Waheeda)
Best Nasyid Album — Maulana (Rabbani)
Best Rock Album — Aku. Muzik. Kamu (Faizal Tahir)
Best Pop Album — Hadiah dari Hati (Datuk Siti Nurhaliza)
Best Local English Album — Eclecticism (Melissa Indot)
Best Local Chinese Album — Here I Come (Andrew Tan)
Best Local Indian Album — Kanmani (Martin Zamigano)
Best Malay Song Performed by a Foreign Artiste — Terlalu Cinta (Rossa)
Best Musical Arrangement in a Song (Malay) — Cintamu (Nai Kong)
Best Musical Arrangement in a Song (non-Malay) — Last Breath (Hafiz Hamidun)
Song Of The Year — Izinku Pergi (Kaer Azami)

 

source: the new straits times

By : Hafidah Samat

2008/04/29

Who else but Siti.

 

THE 15th Anugerah Industri Muzik, the country’s most prestigious music awards event, is back! Once again, beloved songstress Datuk Siti Nurhaliza grabbed the limelight with five nominations.

But three newcomers — Karen Kong, Faizal Tahir and Estranged, nominees for the Best New Artiste award — are making waves.

Soul/R&B singer Kong is getting a lot of attention with her single Cinta Hello Kitty, a sappy, catchy ballad taken from her debut album, Mulakan.

Her soaring vocals, quite marvellous for a relatively young singer, have stirred considerable interest from certain quarters in the music industry over the past few months. Making her debut nomination at this year’s AIM, she is up for Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female) award.

Faizal, a product of 8TV’s One In A Million who recently caused a brouhaha by baring his chest on TV, is back with a new lease of life, so to speak. The host of TV3’s Gangstarz has garnered a few nominations, including for Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Male) and Best Song (for his first single Mahakarya Cinta) categories.
Estranged, which has been the toast of the music industry with the self-penned track Itu Kamu, may just spring another surprise. The guys who bagged the top award at this year’s Anugerah Juara Lagu for the rock-tinged song were also named Most Popular Group/Duo at the eighth edition of Anugerah Planet Muzik.

For AIM, Estranged is also in the running for the Best Song award.

Atilia and Kaer Azmi are the other nominees in the Best New Artiste category. That aside, looking at the list of nominees at this prestigious music awards ceremony to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday, you’d know that it’s going to be an exciting affair.

There may be many “gripping moments” or “elements of suspense” as the list of nominees really does have that “stiff competition” tag.

What’s interesting is that this year’s nominees are a nice mix of both new and old acts, a positive development in the industry.

• HERE are more AIM updates. As it is into its 15th year, the producers have promised to introduce fresh elements into the presentation. For starters, the performances will be divided into various segments, including Warisan and Tribute.

There will be performances by the creme de la creme of the music industry, including Siti Nurhaliza, Anuar Zain, Atilia, Dafi, Dayang Nurfaizah, Estranged, Faizal Tahir, Fiq (Mentor), Hazami, Karen Kong, Mawi, Pop Shuvit, Rahim Maarof and Suki.

The performers will be backed by a combo led by popular composer Aubrey Suwito.

According to Persatuan Akademi Anugerah Industri Muzik Malaysia (PAIMM) general manager Jennifer Thompson, AIM15 promotes racial harmony, as reflected in the nominees and performers’ lists.

The list of presenters also boasts an interesting mix of Malay and non-Malay celebrities. They include Alif Aziz, Anne (of Hot.FM), Ben (Fly.FM), Daniel Lee, Datin Julie Sudiro, Diddy, Fazley, Elyana, Farawahida, Kartini (Hot.FM), Pete Teo, Sean Ghazi, Shebby Singh and Sohaimi Mior Hassan.

This year’s event will also see the return of the award-winning actor-producer-singer Afdlin Shauki as the host. He is accompanied by sensational singer and actress Adibah Noor.

AIM15 will also feature a pre-event blue carpet ceremony which will be aired “live” over ntv7 at 9pm.

• SITI Nurhaliza’s Menanti Pasti — the waltz-influenced track taken from Kayangan, The Soundtrack — is a force to be reckoned with. The tune about everlasting love and devotion has been nominated for Best Song at the awards ceremony.

The track is written by Harian Metro journalist-turned-lyricist Abie Abdullah. Award-winning composer and singer Ajai also lent his expertise to infuse the lyrics with a unique melody.

According to Kayangan executive producer Adit Rahim of Raden Pictures Sdn Bhd, he is thrilled to have collaborated with Siti on the project.

He added that Siti’s vocal prowess is clearly discernible in this tune. Apart from that, Siti is also a nominee in the categories for Best Vocal Performance in An Album (Female), Best Album Cover, Best Pop Album, Best Music Arrangement in a Song and Best Song.

• As preparations for AIM15 are getting underway, producers are apparently at loggerheads when it comes to the selection of the performers for the evening. Two veteran male artistes were dropped from the preliminary performers’ list.

Originally slated to perform in the Tribute segment, they were replaced by others as the producers feared a “no-show”.

source: the new straits times

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Faizal Tahir (left) bagged the Best New Male Artiste and Most Popular Male Artiste awards; while Indonesian songbird Kris Dayanti won the award for Best Female Artiste.

KUALA LUMPUR: Repeating last year’s achievement, Malaysia once again dominated Anugerah Planet Muzik 2008 by winning eight awards.

Leading the pack was Faizal Tahir, who just finished his three-month ban from live television shows. He bagged awards for Best New Male Artiste and Most Popular Male Artiste.

Estranged won Most Popular Song with Itu Kamu and Most Popular Duo/Group.

Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Anuar Zain bagged Most Popular Female Artiste and Best Male Artiste, respectively.

Newcomers Farah Asyikin and Meet Uncle Hussain won Best New Female Artiste and Best New Duo/Group, respectively.

The biggest winner of the night, however, was Indonesian band Gigi, who won Best Duo/Group, Best Song for Nakal and Best Album for Love, Peace and Respect.

Indonesian songbird Kris Dayanti won Best Female Artiste, beating Siti Nurhaliza.

Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre last night, the show was carried live over Astro Ria and radio station ERA.

It was hosted by popular Indonesian television personality Sarah Sechan.

 

source: The new straits times

2008/04/01

Hosts Raja Azura (right) and Fauziah ‘Ogy’ Ahmad Daud.

The witty hosts and delightful performances by the artistes of Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian overshadow the surprises in certain award categories, writes DENNIS CHUA.

M. Nasir won the Special Lifetime Achievement Award.

HAVING seen pop phenomenon Asmawi “Mawi” Ani win Most Popular Artiste award ever since he became a celebrity, followers of the annual Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian (ABPBH) in Genting Highlands could be forgiven for calling this year’s results a foregone conclusion.

True, Mawi bagged the above title for the third consecutive year, and won himself an RM185,000 Peugeot 407 and RM150,000-worth of jewellery from Habib Jewels, among others.

Garnering 119,268 votes from Berita Harian readers to win the grand prize, he also defended his Popular Male Artiste title which he first clinched two years ago.

But ABPBH 2007 did not revolve monotonously around the most famous resident of Felda Taib Andak in Kulai, Johor Baru, as it did in the past two years.

Just like the recent general elections, ABPBH 2007 also saw several “upsets”.

Linda Onn of Era FM ended her six-year reign as Popular Female Radio Presenter, vanquished by her chatty former protege Fara Fauzana who migrated to Hot FM two years ago.

Melodi host Fara, who also defended her Popular Female TV Host title for the third year, paid tribute to Linda as a great mentor who “showed her the ropes” during her days in Era.

Fara’s Hot FM colleague Faizal Ismail, won the Popular Male Radio Presenter, replacing Linda’s former colleague Halim Othman, who decided to take a break from showbusiness last year.

Another surprise departure was cinema’s leading man Rosyam Nor, and top funnyman, Saiful Apek, who were deprived of the Popular Film Actor award by newcomer Rusdi Ramli, best known for his convincing role as the long-suffering softie in the film Waris Jari Hantu.

Popular actress Fasha Sandha, who won Popular Film and TV Actress last year, failed to defend her small screen title, and lost it to her fellow northerner Dynas Mokhtar. Rosyam retained the Popular TV Actor award he dominated since 2004.

Berita Harian readers remained fiercely loyal to pop queen Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, nasyid kings Rabbani, “king of comedy” Saiful, “queen of comedy” Sheila Rusly and the irrepressible former “Mr Akademi Fantasia”, Aznil Nawawi.

Siti continued to reign in the Popular Female Artiste category, marking her 12th year on its “throne”, while Saiful and Sheila celebrated five years as Popular Male and Female Comedian, respectively.

The zany Aznil also celebrated five years as Popular Male Television Host, largely due to his sterling performance as the face of Malaysia’s No.1 reality talent show.

And Rabbani defended its Popular Nasyid Group title for the seventh year.

Akademi Fantasia 5 (AF5) champion Nor Syarmilla (Mila) Jirin won Most Popular Female Newcomer while her close pal and fellow AF5 graduate, Gadaffi (Dafi) Ismail won Most Popular Male Newcomer.

The cutesy duo recently lent their voices to the Bahasa Malaysia voiceover for Disney’s High School Musical 2 on Astro, playing the part of lovebirds Gabrielle and Troy respectively.

Only one award for outstanding veterans of screen and song was dished out this year and it went to “sifu” M. Nasir.

The Singapore-born composer, songwriter, actor, director and singer, who was behind the success of Mawi and many other award winners or nominees over the years, received the Special Lifetime Achievement Award.

Thanking his loved ones, fans, the media and collaborators, Nasir paid special tribute to his late friend Rosli Khamis, better known as Loloq, and received a standing ovation from the crowd gathered in the Arena of Stars.

Loloq, who penned the soulful, philosophical lyrics of most of Nasir’s hit songs, died after a long illness early this year.

The award ceremony, telecast “live” by TV3 at 9pm, was hosted once again by Raja Azura and Fauziah Ahmad Daud, or Ogy.

The duo kept the audience in stitches throughout the evening with their sassy, motor-mouthed brand of comedy which, among others, saw them spoof single, desperate women and gossipy housewives.

And as in the previous year, Azura and Ogy also enlightened viewers with interesting trivia on the awards, such as the fact that Ogy’s late father Datuk Ahmad Daud hosted the first award in 1997.

Viewers at the Arena were given additional entertainment during advertisement breaks courtesy of funnymen Zul Yahya and newly-crowned “Raja Lawak” Ahmad Nabil.

However, their jokes paled in comparison to those cracked by the naturally funny Yasin Yahya last year.

Siti led the performers for the evening with Ku Mahu, the catchy, Latin-sounding theme song for TV3 mini series Spa-Q.

Sterling performances were subsequently delivered by P. Ramlee — The Musical star, Liza Hanim, who sang Merawat Luka (the theme song from Fasha’s TV series Natasya), Bob Usop (Jangan Bersedih Lagi), Anuar Zain (Ketulusan Hati) and Raja Atilia (Mungkin).

Vocal powerhouse and heartthrob Anuar was easily the crowd-puller, who belted out his spell-binding hit song to roaring applause.

Ning Baizura, dressed in black and white and accompanied by masked men, got the crowd dancing to her environmentalist hit, Age Of Pollution, while actor Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan surprised and impressed many by singing Antonio Banderas’ hit song Beautiful Maria.

The suave host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? had “back-up dancers” in the form of winning actresses Fasha and Dynas, and newcomer Fouziah Ghous.

Up-and-coming rockers Meet Uncle Hussain also wowed the crowd with their catchy hit Lagu Untuk Mu.

Mawi performed his latest duet Doa Dalam Lagu with AF5 finalist Heliza Helmi of Terengganu. Sadly, it failed to sizzle due to the lack of chemistry between them.

The one performance which really moved the crowd was an otai (old-timers) tribute to Nasir by rockers Ella, Awie, Hattan, Amy and Ramli Sarip. The respected quintet dedicated a heartfelt Kepada Mu Kekasih to the iconic maestro.

Nasir’s acceptance speech was as moving as the tribute song.

He said: “My journey has not finished and I still have a long walk. But I’ll always remember the many wonderful souls who have inspired me along the way.”

Mawi also took the opportunity to announce that he was going steady with actress Ikin Rahmat, after a year of denying rumours that they were an item.

He said their friendship recently “graduated” into romance, but added that it was “too early” to declare her as his life partner.

ROLL CALL

Most Popular Artiste: Mawi.

Most Popular Male Singer: Mawi.

Most Popular Female Singer: Datuk Siti Nurhaliza.

Most Popular Duo/Group: Sofaz.

Most Popular Nasyid Group: Rabbani.

Most Popular Film Actor: Rusdi Ramli.

Most Popular Film Actress: Fasha Sandha.

Most Popular TV Actor: Rosyam Nor.

Most Popular TV Actress: Dynas Mokhtar.

Most Popular Male Comedian: Saiful Apek.

Most Popular Female Comedienne: Sheila Rusly.

Most Popular Male Newcomer: Dafi Ismail.

Most Popular Female Newcomer: Mila Jirin.

Most Popular Male TV Host: Aznil Nawawi.

Most Popular Female TV Host: Fara Fauzana.

Most Popular Male Radio Presenter: Faizal Ismail.

Most Popular Female Radio Presenter: Fara Fauzana.

Special Lifetime Achievement Award: M. Nasir.

source: the new straits times

By : HAFIDAH SAMAT

2008/03/18

SITI

IT looks like multiple award-winning singing sensation Datuk Siti Nurhaliza is reinventing herself and it entails more than just razzle-dazzle!

Her new venture will see her promoting beauty products using “halal” ingredients. The range will even bear her own name.

“Insya’allah, if everything works out, the makeup collection is slated for release sometime next year. I’m currently negotiating the business positioning of the product — the branding, the look and other aspects,” said Siti recently.

The products, she said, will contain skin-friendly natural ingredients with no chemical additives.

“For the moment, all I can say is the products will encourage women to be more adventurous. The ingredients, which include silky smooth minerals, will settle nicely on all types of skin and are suitable for women on the go,” she said.
The singer, who last appeared on RTM1’s musical variety show Zoom In … Bersama Datuk Siti Nurhaliza earlier this month, had no comment when asked if she was following in the footsteps of her good friend and singer Kris Dayanti.

She said she had always wanted to launch her own makeup range.

source: the new straits times

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Siti Nursaida Tarudin will feature on ‘Akademi Fantasia’.

KUALA LUMPUR: Siti Nursaida Tarudin, the elder sister of pop queen Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, has been shortlisted from 25 for the latest season of Astro Ria’s popular reality series Akademi Fantasia 06.

The 32-year-old from Kuala Lipis, Pahang, will join 13 other hopefuls namely Hairina Abd Halim, Ika Nabila Abdul Rahim, Lutfyah Sheikh Omar, Nadia Haswani Hasnan, Stracie Angie Anam, Marliyana Omar Walid, Mohamad Aliff Mohd Razali, Muhammad Faisal Abdullah, Muhammad Shauqi Naaim Salmi, Ahmad Nubhan Ahamad, Mohamed Idris Mohd Zaizizi, Stanley Maringai David Impi and Khairul Nizam Baharom.

The announcement was made by AF6 executive producer Raja Fouzeel Raja Zainal during the show Tirai Akademi Fantasia last night.

source: the new straits times

By : Dennis Chua

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Siti Norsaida Tarudin, sister of pop diva Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, is among the candidates for Astro’s talent show, ‘Akademi Fantasia 6’.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Siti Nurhaliza’s elder sister, Siti Norsaida Tarudin, and a 44-year-old grandmother are among the 25 candidates for the sixth season of Astro’s popular reality talent show, Akademi Fantasia .

The pop queen’s 32-year-old sister and Hairina Halim are among the 13 women and 12 men candidates chosen from the 6,000 hopefuls who auditioned for the show over the past two months.

Astro Entertainment Sdn Bhd executive director Zainir Aminullah said the numbers will be reduced between 12 and 16 in the third episode of Tirai Akademi Fantasia 6 (AF6) over Astro Ria (Channel 104) at 8.30pm on Sunday.

As in the past, an equal number of men and women will make the final cut.

The first two episodes will be screened on Friday and Saturday where the 25 will be assessed by the Akademi team led by principal Ramli M.S.

“They will all undergo several orientation sessions and only the best will be selected,” he said.

The first weekly AF6 concert will be screened live over Astro Ria at 9pm on March 22 from the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre in Jalan Yong Shook Lin.

Ning Baizura and Fauziah Ahmad Daud, known to her fans as “Ogy”, will be the two permanent critics.

Ramli’s instructors include Anita Sarawak and Fauziah Nawi (performance), Siti Hajar Ismail, Syafizawati Sharif and Genervie Kam (vocals), Linda Jasmine Hashim (choreography), Fatimah Abu Bakar (motivation and English language) and Jasmi Rejab (fashion consultant).

This season’s winner will receive more than RM700,000 worth of prizes, including a four-room bungalow in Malacca’s A Famosa Resort and a holiday trip to South Africa.

Besides Siti Norsaida and Hairina, the other female candidates are Nabilla Noor Anuar, Rahayu Yahya, Sofea Yusoff, Ika Rahim, Irsa Sahabuddin, Lutfyah Omar, Marliyana Omar Walid, Nadia Haswani Hasnan, Noriezuana Shafudin, Idayu Basir and Stracie Angie Anam.

The male candidates are Nazib Zaidi, Nubhan Ahamad, Azharudin Ramli, Kamarul Zaman Kaha, Khairul Nizam Baharom, Aliff Razali, Idris Zaizizi, Hanafiah Mamat, Faizal Abdullah, Shauqi Naaim Salmi, Sharul Nizam Piah and Stanley David Impi.

source : the new straits times

BERNAMA

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SHAH ALAM, WED:

The High Court here today fixed April 25 the case involving a suit filed by a teenager against businessman Datuk Khalid Mohamed Jiwa alleging him of assaulting the teenager in March last year.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mariana Yahya fixed the date in chambers to enable both parties to prepare the relevant documents pertaining to the case.

The teenager, Muhammed Kasheef Harris Sivapatham, 18, filed the suit against Khalid, the husband of popular singer Datuk Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin, on April 13 last year, claiming that he was punched by Khalid, better know as Dr K, for no apparent reason in a house at Bukit Antarabangsa, near here.

In the suit, he is seeking a declaration that Khalid unlawfully detained him in the house between 11.30pm on March 17 and 1am the following day.

He is also seeking an injunction to stop Khalid and/or his agents from physically harming him pending trial.

Muhammed Kasheef also seeks general damages, special damages, aggravated and/or exemplary damages, interest, costs and other reliefs deemed fit by the court.

source: Bernama & The New Straits Times