Malaysian Television Personalities 101: Aznil, Marion, Asha, Henry

Reality shows are impossible to avoid these days as they’re on almost every channel on television. You know the likes: talent shows American Idol and Akademi Fantasia, or weight loss competition The Biggest Loser. But behind every successful reality show lies a host.

Some people may look at the occupation of a TV host as rather irrelevant (and we haven’t even gone on to the emcees). But if you really think about it, how can an event or a television show run without them? They’d just be PowerPoint presentations.

Among the highest earning TV hosts in the world include the lovely Oprah Winfrey, the hilarious Ellen Degeneres, and the ever dapper and suave Ryan Seacrest. 

Zooming in on Malaysia, we have our fair share of talents too — some of them have done so well in their careers they’re known internationally. Here are a few of them.

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Aznil Haji Nawawi

It wouldn’t be too far off to think of Dato’ Aznil Haji Nawawi, better known as Pak Nil, as the godfather of Malaysian reality TV.

Pak Nil hosted the hit Malaysian singing competition Akademi Fantasia for five consecutive seasons from 2003-2007 and had his very own talk show called Macam Macam Aznil which was one of the more memorable local talk shows we’ve had.

Also dubbed as Malaysia’s answer to Ryan Seacrest, Pak Nil has won over 20 awards for his outstanding performance as a television personality, including the Most Popular Male TV Host at Anugerah Bintang Popular for nine years straight from 2003-2011, and once again in 2014.

Here’s an interesting trivia about this local television living legend — he represented HBO Asia to the Academy Awards in Hollywood earlier this year! There, he had the opportunity to interview some celebrities at the red carpet including award-winning actor J.K. Simmons.

Let’s also not forget the fact that he interviewed Kim Kardashian at E! Studio during his visit to Los Angeles.

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Marion Caunter

Marion Rose Caunter needs almost no introduction to those born in the 80’s; this glamorous mom of two kickstarted her career in showbusiness by first being behind the cameras.

In an interview with , Marion mentioned that she was producing for 8TV initially and was in charge of auditioning and casting, until her boss told her to give the role a shot. She then started to host 8TV Quickie.

She went on to host hit Malaysian singing competition show One In A Million for three consecutive seasons alongside Awal Ashaari. Marion earned her big break when she was offered to host E! News Asia in 2010 with Dominic Lau. She was also the host of the second season of The Biggest Loser Asia in the same year.

Now that she is a wife and a mother of two girls, Marion is less active in the television scene.

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Asha Gill

Recognised not only in Malaysia, Asha Gill has appeared on screens pretty much all around the world.

The 43-year old beauty was one of Channel [V]‘s video jockeys back in 1999, and was chosen as the face of the station not long after. Asha held a huge role in Channel [V]; her tasklist included directing, scriptwriting and producing.

This established host is also known for hosting Lonely Planet‘s Six Degrees, a people-centric travel show airing since 2003 (alongside British presenter Toby Amies) on Discovery Channel.

In 2004, Asha received an accolade at the Asian Television Awards held in Singapore.

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 Henry Golding

Before we talk about how recognized this dapper entertainment icon is, let’s take a look at his resume.

Henry was once a hairstylist at London’s top celebrity hairstylists, Richard Ward Hair and Metrospa. He left London for Malaysia in 2008 and earned his big break as a host after his appointment at an ESPN weekly football show. He then discovered his love for travel shows, which led him to hosting numerous travel programs.

Henry hosted two seasons of travel show Without Boundaries on 8tv — an adventure-filled series that saw him climb the highest mountains and dive into the most breathtaking seas of Malaysia.

Henry also hosted Welcome To The Railworld Japan for the same channel earlier this year.

The concept of the show was rather interesting: Henry would travel and explore all eight regions in Japan via its railway system. This is what he told The Star regarding the show during an interview.

“When you talk about travelling to Japan, people immediately flock to Tokyo. But they don’t realise that a couple of hours away by train, they can discover a different feel to Japan,” he mentioned.

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