In light of recent events happening, we hope everyone is keeping safe at home! We know staying at home can sometimes be demotivating, so here we are presenting something that is inspiring to everyone. We wanted to highlight some of the many Malaysians that are building names for themselves and showcasing some of their stories.

Image Source: facebook.com/ShilaAmzahOfficial/

1. Shila Amzah

Born on the 13^th of August 1990 and raised in Kuala Lumpur, NurShahila binti Amir Amzah known professionally as Shila Amzah is the first Malay singer to have found fame in the Chinese speaking countries and has achieved record charts whilst at it. Growing up listening to Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, she is able to sing in multiple languages not limited to Malay, Mandarin and English. She says that using Youtube has helped her build her exposure with her Southeast Asia fans and also allowed her to venture from the traditional way of signing with record labels.

Having built a connection from Malaysia to China, she was presented with a special award from the Chinese government for building a friendship between the countries. Not only is she a cultural ambassador for Malaysia, she was also appointed as the country’s tourism ambassador to China. Check out one of her best performances here.

Image Source: facebook.com/yunamusic/

2. Yuna

Yunalis Mat Zara'ai known professionally as Yuna was born on 14 November 1986, in Alor Setar, Kedah. Writing songs from the tender age of 14, she self taught herself guitar and her initial exposure was via MySpace where she uploaded her music that received over a million plays where she then got signed with a management company in 2011. Yuna’s more famous collaboration with Usher reached number 3 on the US Billboard charts. Be sure to check out the catchy tune here!

Image Source: facebook.com/paperplanepursuit/

3. Paperplane Pursuit

Started off by two high school boys, their name ‘Paperplane Pursuit’ came in 2009 after numerous name changes and consists of 4 members: John O (lead vocalist), Dru Yap (drummer), Isaac Ravi (guitarist), and The Chief (bassist). Breaking into the US Billboard charts with their catchy hit ‘Feel Good’, they ended up staying on the charts for a total of six weeks reaching number 30 on the list. If you haven’t heard their hit single ‘Feel Good’, give it a listen! We’re sure you would’ve heard this tune over the radio!

As a band, they’ve handled every aspect of business themselves from writing to producing their music, marketing and handling their own record label. Their biggest achievement was when 5 Seconds of Summer invited them to open for their show. Unfortunately, their band has decided to retire after a decade with John O going solo whilst the other members are helping build the next generation of local artists.

Image Source: facebook.com/ronnychiengpage/

4. Ronny Chieng

A comedian and actor born in Johor Bahru, his rise to fame started when he performed at a comedy festival in Melbourne in 2013 with Trevor Noah. Moving to New York to further pursue his dream, he was asked to audition for a role on The Daily Show, hosted by Trevor Noah. He has since then landed a role in Crazy Rich Asians and a Netflix stand-up special called ‘Asian Comedian Destroys America!’. Have you checked out his recent video about misinformation on the Coronavirus?

5. James Wan

James Wan, a Malaysian-born Australian is a producer and film director that rose to fame as a co-creator to the famous Saw movies. He directed the first Saw and co-wrote the second, but also produced all 8 movies in the franchise. Making a debut in 2004 at the Sundance Film festival, the movie started gaining tremendous success both internationally and locally in box offices. Currently, the Saw movie franchise became the 2^nd highest grossing horror franchise in the US. 

The talented filmmaker is known for his highly-successful string of horror, action and superhero movies, having directed Insidious (2010) and The Conjuring (2013), as well as the Hollywood blockbusters, Furious 7 (2015) and Aquaman (2018).

6. Amber Leong

Growing up in Kuala Lumpur, her parents were not well off and through their financial difficulties; they got her a one-way ticket to attend Bemidji State University. Whilst there, she suffered toxic shock syndrome ending up in ICU for 14 days and almost losing her life. From there, she vowed to never waste her life where she received her undergraduate and MBA degree in Marketing. After coming up with the idea of light therapy lamps, she decided to enter the reality show- Shark Tank. Being the first ever Malaysian to impress the ‘sharks’, she managed to secure an investment amount of USD800, 000. The show’s investors were taken aback with her story that she was offered 2 investment opportunities but decided to go with the option where USD50,000 from the investment would go to her parents. Check out her pitch here.

Image Source: instagram.com/henrygolding/

7. Henry Golding

Henry Golding is a name everybody is familiar with after his amazing acting performance in Crazy Rich Asians! Born in Sarawak to an Iban mother and English father, he moved back to England at the age of 8 to study before returning back to Kuala Lumpur at 21 to pursue on-camera roles. In 2014, he started hosting The Travel Show before landing the role of Nick Young in Crazy Rich Asians. He has since then landed a romantic-comedy role alongside Emilia Clarke called Last Christmas.

Image Source: instagram.com/diana.chan.au/

8. Diana Chan

Crediting her parents for her interest in cooking, Diana grew up in Johor Bahru before moving to Kuala Lumpur then Australia in her late teens is famous for winning MasterChef Australia in 2017. Having the passion for cooking traditional Peranakan or Cantonese dishes, she entered the competition coming out on top with the trophy of AUD 250,000 and her dreams of opening a ‘fresh and casual’ restaurant in Melbourne. Constantly being complimented by the judges for her flavorful and creative plating, Diana plans on having Malaysian influences in her dishes embracing fusion flavors.

There are many more Malaysians that inspire and motivate us to achieve our dreams! With their humble beginning and amazing success stories, we hope this will motivate you to do your very best as well! Don’t lose inspiration during this hard time.

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