Dec
19
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Personal Siti, Career on December-19-2007


AFTER more than a decade of involvement in the industry, songstress Datuk Siti Nurhaliza is happy that her fans still accept her the way she is.

“I’m very happy that my fans have been there with me, and given me encouragement and suggestions via my website, Sitizone.com.

Crimes of fashion: Datuk Siti Nurhaliza’s outfit received coverage in M Star.

“From the site, I have learned what they want to hear on my album and what (they think) I should do next in terms of my singing career.

“Some of them want me to release a new album as soon as possible. That’s how my latest album, Hadiah Daripada Hati, came about,” said Siti during the launch of the album recently.

Pop-driven Hadiah Daripada Hati comprises songs such as Ku Mahu (theme song from drama series Spa Q), Hati (theme song from 1957 – Hati Malaya) and Mulanya Cinta, which was composed by Dick Lee (from P.Ramlee the Musical).

Produced by her own label, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (SNP), Hadiah Daripada Hati is distributed by Suria Records.

On a related matter, columnist Kakak Tua expressed, in no uncertain terms, her disapproval of Siti’s choice of wardrobe for the album launch, lamenting that it was in poor taste.

source: the star online


 
Nov
14
    
Posted (admin) in Youtube, Datuk K, the star online, Personal Siti on November-14-2007

KUALA LUMPUR: It was an emotional meeting at the National Heart Institute (IJN) between heart-transplant girl Tee Hui Yi and pop queen Datuk Siti Nurhaliza.The teenager was so happy that she was speechless when she came face-to-face with her idol, who was teary-eyed and touched by the courage, strong spirit and determination showed by the 14-year-old patient.

Dream come true: Siti talking with Hui Yi at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. With them are (from left) Hui Yi’s parents Tee and Dina Bato, and Chan.

The girl, accompanied by parents Tee Ah Soon and Dina Bato Sam Bua, was initially shy and hid behind her mother.

Hui Yi only learned about the exciting news of meeting Siti early yesterday morning.

“Have you had your breakfast?” asked Siti, to break the ice.

Hui Yi merely giggled and nodded her head in reply.

After both warmed up to each other, Malaysia’s most famous celebrity invited Hui Yi to attend her concert when she is fully recovered.

The young fan, who was wearing a mask, quickly wrote down her contact number and passed it to the artiste, adding: “I hope you will continue singing.”

The two then took photographs together and gave each other a warm hug before Siti left the ward after their 10-minute meeting.

“I am praying for your speedy recovery and I hope to see you at my concert very soon,” she told Hui Yi.

Siti, who was accompanied by MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and his wife, Datin Seri Ann Chan, presented the girl with an autographed copy of her latest album Pastikan before she left.

The Chans gave the teenager a stalk of purple orchid, a basket of fruits and a handbook on qi gong.

Outside the ward, Siti told reporters that she had wanted to meet Hui Yi after learning of the girl’s wish to see her.

She said Chan had called her husband, Datuk Seri Khalid Mohamad Jiwa, on Monday night to make the arrangements for the visit.

“I am happy to see Hui Yi making good progress. She is a very cheerful and strong girl,” added Siti, urging the public to pledge their organs for donations after their deaths.

“Do not hesitate as it could bring a new life for those in need,” she said.

Chan was also happy to learn about Hui Yi’s good progress, adding: “We hope to see her full recovery and be back to her normal life soon.”

Hui Yi had received a heart from a 15-year-old boy diagnosed to be brain dead on Oct 4 but soon after the operation her body started rejecting the new heart.

The next day, she got the heart of a 20-year-old mechanic who was declared brain dead after a road accident in Johor Baru.

Hui Yi is due to be discharged from the IJN in two weeks.

source: the star online


 
Oct
04
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Career on October-4-2007

October 4th, 2007 By RUBIN KHOO

KUALA LUMPUR: She may have graced the stage of the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London but Datuk Siti Nurhaliza is just as excited at the prospect of making her theatre debut at the Istana Budaya in the soon to be staged P. Ramlee The Musical … The Life, The Love and The Inspiration.

The songstress said she was offered a part in the musical produced by Enfiniti Productions after attending a theatre workshop organised by the production company, which was also responsible for the phenomenal Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical (PGLM).

“I felt so proud when I saw PGL and when I attended the workshop later I was given the chance to experience what theatre was like,” she said..

Sitiwas offered the role of Azizah, the first love of the late P. Ramlee.

While many may not be familiar with Azizah and her relationship with the legendary singer, Siti believes she played an integral part in his life.

“She was his childhood friend and they grew up together but she was the daughter of a rich man who had forbidden their relationship,” she said. “It was then that he left his village.”

P. Ramlee subsequently composed a song in memory of his childhood sweetheart, simply entitled Azizah.

P. Ramlee The Musical … The Life, The Love and The Inspiration comes alive at the Instana Budaya from Oct 18 to Nov 3.

Tickets are priced at RM200, RM180, RM150, RM120, RM80, RM50 and RM30 and are available at 03-2091 1666 or online at www.ticket2u.biz. Mobile phone bookings are via java.ticket2u.biz with payment at Mobility One terminals at Petronas outlets.

source : The Star


 
Oct
02
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Career on October-2-2007


Buka puasa feast for 8,000 poor

ABOUT 8,000 underprivileged people were treated to a buka puasa feast at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur last night, courtesy of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

The senior citizens and children, most of whom were from the Klang Valley, were joined by invited guests, including officials from several agencies such as Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL), Rela, Alam Flora, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

Welcome: Shahrizat (in pink tudung), Chew (on Shahrizat’s right) and other officials greeting senior citizens during the Rahmat Ramadan (Ramadan Blessing) buka puasa feast.

As soon as it was time to break fast, they tucked into food and drinks distributed by volunteers from the event sponsors who were manning the 45 food and beverage stalls on the field. Among the items handed out were packets of fried chicken, nasi minyak, mee hoon, satay, kuih-muih, fruit and various drinks

A total of 53 corporate bodies and private companies donated food and cash for the event.

Pop icon: Siti Nurhaliza (right) was among the guests at the event.

Among those who attended the Rahmat Ramadan (Ramadan Blessing) feast were Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and parliamentary secretary Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, DBKL secretary-general Datuk Salleh Yusup and Kuala Lumpur police chief DCP Zul Hasnan Najib Baharuddin.

Local singing sensation Datuk Siti Nurhaliza also attended the dinner. 

Prior to the breaking of fast, the people were entertained with religious songs by Yassin, Bienda, Hakani and a nasyid group from the Brickfields police station.

source : the star online


 
Aug
27
    
Posted (admin) in the star online on August-27-2007

Siti, Khalid mark first anniversary

25 August 2007

(From left) Siti’s mother Siti Salmah Bachik, Siti’s father Tarudin Ismail, Khalid’s friend Datuk Abdul Jalil, Siti, Khalid and Khalid’s mother Siti Zainab Hanafi cutting a cake to celebrate Siti and Khalid’s first wedding anniversary during their celebration in Petaling Jaya Friday night.

PETALING JAYA: Hundreds of friends and fans showed up yesterday at a hotel in Bandar Utama here to celebrate the first wedding anniversary of pop darling Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and her husband Datuk Mohd Khalid Jiwa.

Guests at the glitzy and glamorous evening included celebrity friends and members of the royalty.

In her speech, the celebrated pop sensation, clad in a retro light-blue gown, thanked the guests and said it had been a wonderful year and hoped for more good years to come.

The anniversary do featured performances by several local artistes as well as a number by Siti herself.

source: the star online


 
Aug
23
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Career on August-23-2007

United they rock

THEY were united and show-ed that they were not afraid to ‘Gegar’ (rock) the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) with their enthusiastic songs.

More than 5,000 students from 14 universities turned up for the star-studded concert during the finale of the Gegar U! Colours of Our Nation – A Symbol of Unity programme – held on Saturday night.

The event, which was telecast live in Brunei and Malaysia via ASTRO, had an impressive line up of stars to thrill the audience.

Even before the start of the concert, the students were enthusiastically beating their blue Celcom cylinder balloons and performing Mexican waves while cheering their teams.

The students dressed in black Gegar U! T-shirts, proved to be a ‘sporting’ audience.

Building up unity:Varsity students turn up at Penang International Sports Arena for Gegar U!programme.

Keep it up:Abdullah presenting a mock cheque for RM5,000 to a representative of Universiti Utara Malaysia for winning the ‘Pictures of Unity’ competition.With them are Jeanne(third right),Nori(right),Dr Koh and Jahara.

Star of the night:Siti Nurhaliza and her backup singers entertaining the crowd.

The event, which was mainly hosted by Linda Onn and Aznil Nawawi, had the crowd screaming and cheering at their favourite stars.

The concert had pop, rock, ballads, traditional songs, nasyid and even a monologue. Songs in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil were sung to reflect the message of the programme, which is ‘A symbol of Unity’.

Akademi Fantasia 2 winner Zahid thrilled the crowd with his nifty moves when he belted out Justin Timberlake’s ‘My Love’ and ‘Sexy Back’.

Audience were brought back to the a-go-go era by Akademi Fantasia 5 student Shawal when he sang ‘Kenangku’ and ‘Oh Fatima’.

Male dancers in chequered pants and sweater and female dancers with bee hive hair-dos provided the nostalgic feel during his performance.

Newly crowned Astro Talent Quest 07 winner Zax performed a Mandarin song ‘I understand’ while Vimal sang a Tamil song.

During Fauziah Nawi’s monologue, the concert veered to a different mood. Nevertheless, she earned a thunderous applause from the audience when she capped the end of the performance with a soulful rendition of a song with Lia.

Meanwhile, local band Estrange had the crowd singing along with them during the rendition of their hit ‘Itu Kamu’.

But the star that stole the show that night was Datuk Siti Nurhaliza who was dressed smartly in a dark grey pantsuit and scarf.

She sang ‘Hidup Penuh Bicara’ and briefly disappeared before coming back to stage to sing the finale ‘Warna-warna Malaysiaku’ with all the artistes who performed that night.

The finale had everyone on their feet and waving a mini Jalur Ge-milang.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who closed the event, his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia chairman Nori Abdullah, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili and Penang executive councillor Datuk Jahara Hamid, who was the chairman of the coordinating committee, also stood up and waved their mini Jalur Gemilang to beat of the song.

Winners of the Gegar U! Unity in Music band competition also performed during the concert.

The two-week-old band from Universiti Sabah Malaysia (UMS) won RM16,000 for their first time effort.

Band leader Moses De Silva, 24, said they did not expect to win as they were only set up two weeks before the competition.

“We came, we played, we won and we don’t know what we are going do (after this),” jested Moses.

He said half the money would go to the university while the remaining RM8,000 will be split among the five members.

The event was organised by Yayasan Budi Penyayang and the Higher Education Ministry, and sponsored by International College of Music (ICOM).

It was held in conjunction with the country’s 50 years of nationhood.

The Star, RTM and Utusan Malaysia were among the official media partners for the three-day event.

source: The Star online


 
Jul
31
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Career on July-31-2007

Road to independence

Telling a story about the birth of a nation in two hours proved harder than expected.

With budget limitations, insufficient support from relevant parties and historical landmarks that no longer exist, the making of 1957 Hati Malaya has been a long and arduous journey.

But now, director Shuhaimi Baba and executive producer Aida Fitri Buyong can smile as the movie is currently in the final stage of editing. The movie is scheduled for release in October.

“There were days on the set when there was so much madness that we felt we would not have made it to the end of the shoot,” said Aida during the launch of the website recently.

“Many of us felt it was a huge responsibility and frightening experience: how do you tell a story of our founding fathers and the birth of a nation in two hours?

Mohamad Kamarulzaman Taib plays Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1957 Hati Malaya.

“Despite the lack of time and resources, it has been a true learning process. I’m glad to say that for us, who have forgotten the dry history lessons in school, making this movie gave us new insight into that generation of heroes and unsung heroes who helped bring freedom to this country. Without them we would not be celebrating our independence today.”

1957 Hati Malaya was shot in High Definition on a budget of RM3.6mil. The movie was shot in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Penang and Kedah where a number of sets were built to accommodate the filming, which was completed in April.

Hati Malaya tells of how Malaya gained its independence by interspersing footage of actual events with the contemporary scenes.

The film’s presentation is unique as the story is narrated by five young urbanites living in present-day Malaysia. These characters – Salmi (Maya Karin), Hali (Rusdi Ramli), Rafik (Adlin Aman Ramlie), Ani (Sharifah Amani) and Ang Lee (Douglas Lim) – are assigned to produce a picture book to commemorate the country’s 50th year of independence.

While researching the subject, they find themselves transported back to the colonial era and become involved in the momentous events leading up to Merdeka.

The film focuses on Tunku Abdul Rahman, founder of the Alliance Party (now Barisan Nasional), who became the first Prime Minister in 1957, as well as Datuk Onn Jaafar, who founded Umno (United Malays National Organisation).

Onn fought against the formation of the reviled Malayan Union proposed by the British in 1946, which would have allowed the colonial masters to spirit away Malaya’s wealth.

Performing arts lecturer Mohamad Kamarulzaman Taib took on the role of Tunku and Onn is played by theatre actor Zaefrul Nordin. The country’s two other founding fathers, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V.T. Sambanthan, are portrayed by The Star’s associate editor Kee Thuan Chye and actor G. Nadarajan, respectively.

The movie soundtrack, which includes two theme songs, Perlu Kamu (composed by Ajai and performed by Ajai and Kris Dayanti) and Hati Malaya (composed by Sharon Paul and performed by Datuk Siti Nurhaliza), will be available in September.

“One of the challenges we faced was that during our one year of research, we found out that most of the documents on films and prints pertaining to our independence struggles were largely accounts from the British perspective.

“But for this movie, our interpretation is drawn from both British and Malaysian sources, including printed materials, film footages and interviews with historians and personalities closely associated with the independence movement’s key personalities.

“I really hope that the younger generation will watch the movie so they will know what great thinkers we had at that time and how people suffered before the country achieved its independence,” said Shuhaimi.

The movie’s official website, www.1957hatimalaya.com, is in full operation now. Fans can get details about the movie and the cast and enjoy the interesting interactive activities on the website.

source: The Star Online


 
Jun
15
    
Posted (admin) in the star online, Brand, Career on June-15-2007

The Tailor’s Day
By ESTHER CHANDRAN
Photos by SAMUEL ONG

IT was broad daylight outside the Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur but withinits walls, a group of guests were dressed in stylish tuxedos andevening gowns.
They were attending the Lord’s Tailor’s 33rd anniversary celebration.
The meaningful event on June 6 showed off this longstanding tailoringhouse’s distinct cut as 16 male celebrities came handsomely dressed inmaster tailor Robert Loh’s signature fit and style.
In the room were Farid Kamil, Fahrin Ahmad, Arash, Ebi, AshrafSinclair, Awal, Vince, Rashidi Ishak, Aman, Dafi, Shawal, Steve Yap,Alan Yun, John Wong, Dylan and Andrew Tan.
For the team at Lord’s Tailor, it was more than an anniversary, as they also celebrated the upcoming Father’s Day.
The male celebrities looked smashing but the spotlight was on femalecelebrities like Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Ziana Zain when they walkedin wearing crisp suits, introducing Lord’s Tailor’s Power Suit forPowerful Women.

Director Lee Lee Loh said the Lord’s Tailor brand wassynonymous with suits for men but it was taking a step to showcasefashionable suits for women.
She said celebrities were invited to be a part of the anniversarycelebrations to prove that Lord’s Tailor remained relevant and stillcatered to the need of the ever changing fashion world, particularlythe younger generation.
Later, Siti rendered Aku Cinta Padamu, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and performed a duet with Tan, singing Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin before calling on a few entertainment journalists to join her on stage to sing Teman Tapi Mesra, Pupus and Pudar.
She also performed with Ziana.
Lord’s Tailor’s fame can be traced back to 1975 when Kuala Lumpur hosted the fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Bugner.
After the staff at Hilton Hotel recommended Ali to the tailor for a suit, business was brisk due to the publicity gained.

source: the star online