5 Young Creative Malaysian Ladies Who Are Out of Your League

Women. Who doesn’t love them? Men (and some women) want to be with them, women (and some men) envy them.

With women taking more and more control each day in every facet of our society — from being more active in the economy to nagging sorry husbands — it’s easy to see who’s really in charge of our nation’s future.

Whether we admit it or not, men have always tried to act in the best interest of our female counterparts (even using it as the basis of illogical opression) but we’ve screw things up quite enough. It’s time to let the ladies take the stage and clean up the mess.

On the 28th of May, Kakiseni will be hosting the talk in the Observation Deck of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and their line-up features incredible speakers including Dr. Melanie Billings-Yun (Founder of international consulting firm Global Resolutions), Ms. Adelaine Foo (Founder & Chief Executive Officer The Otomotif College Sdn Bhd), The Amey-Obeng Sisters (FC Group of Companies), Eureka Foong (Piktochart) and Alina Amir (Founder of Arus Academy).

To show our support for the ladies, we have listed down a few of our very own favourite señoritas who are making waves in the creative scene. These ladies definitely deserve to be in the spotlight, and they are definitely out of my league (but a dreamer must always be pessimistic).

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Alena M.

This Bornean beauty graduated from Manchester Business School with first class honours in management but found her passion in artistic endeavours instead as a fine artist and a dance instructor.

Alena Murang is part-Kelabit and she grew up with a rich natural environment where she was exposed to a variety of indigenous Sarawakian cultures. There, the Elders taught her dying art forms: traditional dance, songs and musical instruments such as the sape’ (a traditional lute instrument).

These ingrained experiences within Alena mixed with the journeys she had studying and travelling abroad add flavour to her perspective and ideas which she communicates through her visual art, music and dance.

Alena Murang is a busy woman; Alena recently participated in the all-female group exhibition entitled Inner Visions: An Exploration of the Subconscious back in April and was also seen on the TV9 talk show, Nasi Lemak Kopi O in May. She is a fusion of both modern and traditional; of both city and rainforest. Alena can be found passing on her knowledge at Teach For Malaysia or guiding dance classes.

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Talitha Tan

A soothing voice that can make even the most brutally vicious viking weep in joy and cuddle with their teddy bear; a voice whose beauty you can’t deny. The owner of this voice is gorgeous as well.  has such a voice.

Who is ? According to the singer/songwriter’s Facebook page, she is ‘That Asian Girl On Youtube’ but she is more than just another random video you’ll forget after watching. She is the sort that triggers the stalker/researcher in you as you endlessly scroll through all her photos and videos (or maybe that’s just me).

Starting her musical career back in 2012, she has already made her presence in the local music scene, sharing stages with acts like Paperplane Pursuit, Jumero, Darren Ashley, An Honest Mistake, and has even opened and did a duet with Singaporean band, The Summer State.

This sweet and bubbly girl has a smile to cheer up even the most depressive android.

She recently released her first single: the appropriately-titled “Sigh”. The song is currently being broadcast on local radio stations and she even had the chance to perform it on 8TV Quickie.

And if you’re not into the music scene but somehow find her familiar, this could be due to her guest appearance on Astro Supersport‘s Football Overload, or maybe you’ve simply dreamt of her.

She has a strong fanbase on social media. With over 5456 followers on and 2472 likes on her Facebook page (I’m one of them), Talitha proves that a sweet voice, great smile and positive personality is preferable to gimmicky music.

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Manisha JM

Every morning as the sun rises
she wakes up and gives her praises,
oh no, not to the many faces
but to the things that survived through the ages.
She gives thanks to the earth divine
by watering the plants that grow in the cracks of her mind,
people might think she’s far from fine
but she was reborn when she crossed that line.

–Manisha’s The Peacock Lady

Manisha JM is a poet at heart. Though the words on her blog may seem dark and slightly depressing (typical poets), her shows the fun and friendly side of her. Nearly everyone who has ever met her would agree that these are some of the essential elements that make Manisha a great gal to be around.

Her bubbly personality and warm approach to new people is the first thing you’ll remember about her. Secondly of course, are her heartfelt poems. Manisha regularly participates in poetry readings as a member of .

A graduate of Multimedia University (MMU) with a degree in International Business, this charming lady has worked with a list of well-known establishments before setting up her own talent and artist management agency, MTalent Asia in 2014.  She was also a top 9 finalist for Female Magazine’s 2014 edition of their ‘Cover Model Search’.

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  Shana Azooi

Shana Azooi studied Philosophy and Economics in University College London (UCL) and thought that she would have been an economist and moonlight as a novelist after she graduated. Instead, destiny guided her into the fashion/arts/craft industry as she masterminded two successful online accessories stores, Clutch That Bag and AZOOI.

Shana’s unique hand-painted trinkets started coming into shape from when she was a model and a closet painter who had been finding a new medium to paint on. She found herself brushing beautiful artworks on clutch bags and was able to market them as art-centric but functional fashion pieces.

After Clutch That Bag’s first public appearance alongside world-renowned fashion designer Pearly Wong back in , Shana Azooi’s creative crafts skyrocketed and gained attention from international buyers, making it foolish not to further pursue this venture.

Hence, the brand AZOOI was officially launched a year later with the help of her mother, Juliah, and her sister, Nadia. Shana and AZOOI strive to produces only top-notch artistic pieces while incorporating a variety of materials for her growing number of dedicated clients and fans.

Shana’s fashion pieces has been featured numerous times in top Malaysian magzines such as The Edge, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Hanger Magazine, Female Mag, Harper’s Bazaar, Glam and many more.

 

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Nadia J. Mahfix

Dreary imagery with minimalist composition that highlight the aesthetic of a subject is perhaps the best description for Nadia Jasmine Mahfix‘s amazingly melancholic photography. The self-taught photographer was a psychology student who took snapshots of the world on her camera to better understand the cesspool that is human cilivization.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, ‘s practices creating substantial images as a form of therapy and found herself showcasing them in exhibitions such as ‘Beyond Our City: Lights & Myths’ in  The Annexe Gallery of Central Market back in 2010 as well as last year’s ‘The Two Mountains Project’ at White Box, Publika.

In 2014, she self-published two books: a photobook, Is this the [n]?, and a photozine, Nowhere. She has already been interviewed by GUMBALL magazine in 2013 and Obscura Festival in 2014.

Nadia quotes Diane Arbus on her Facebook page: “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.”

Therefore, I’ll just let her works do the talking. (P.S : Featured image is also by Nadia.)

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These ladies make me wish I was as confident as Don Draper or James Bond but sadly I’m not. Nevertheless they inspire me to become a better gentleman in which I shall forever be grateful for (kalau jadi gentlemen la). For everyone else looking for more inspiring women, head over to the TEDxKLWomen page for some  and go get your tickets now!

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If you liked this, make sure to check out:

5 Young Creative Malaysian Gentlemen Who Are So Eligible It Hurts