Minister’s ‘Tok Mail’ nickname catches on with family


Compiled by C. ARUNO, RAHIMY RAHIM and R. ARAVINTHAN

SINGER-actor-producer Gadaffi Ismail Sabri, who is the son of Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, says he finds his father’s nickname “Tok Mail”, which was coined by netizens, hilarious, reported Harian Metro.

“My father is the youngest of six siblings. In our family he is actually known as Pak Su. So when Malaysians call him Tok Mail, we find it really funny,” said Gadaffi, 32, who is known as Dafi.

He, however, said the whole family had accepted the nickname.

“For me, it shows how close my father is with the rakyat. Nicknames such as Pak Long Mail and Tok Mail can be seen as a sign of respect for our leaders. Such terms of endearment are usually reserved for family members,” added Dafi.

Dafi, who was discovered on Astro reality talent show Akademi Fantasia in its fifth season in 2007, said his father’s popularity had continued to grow.

The Malay daily also quoted actress Farah Nabilah Saipuddin, who is five months pregnant, as saying that she feels nauseous when she sees chicken.

The 27-year-old celebrity, who married pilot Mohammed Amirul, 29, in December, said: “I could not even look at chicken, when I actually love eating chicken.

“However, I am grateful that my allergy has eased and everything has become normal,” she said.

Farah Nabilah said she found out she was pregnant the day before she flew to the Maldives for her honeymoon in March.

> Radio stations are playing popular Hari Raya songs to lift the mood of listeners who are now allowed to go interstate during the recovery movement control order (MCO) period, reported BH Hip, the entertainment pullout of Berita Harian.

Suria radio deejay Roslinda Abdul Majid, popularly known as DJ Lin, said they had received many requests to play Hari Raya songs to boost the Raya mood.

“Suria FM plays Hari Raya songs based on requests by our loyal listeners. We play three or more Hari Raya songs every hour,” she said.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.

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