‘Don’t mock dangdut genre with obscenity’

Compiled by MARTIN CARVALHO, CHOW HOW BAN and R. ARAVINTHAN

SINGER Ani Maiyuni is disappointed with present day dangdut singers who create sensational content on social media, resulting in a negative perception of the music genre.

“We used to gyrate but it was not branded as obscene,” she said.

The 44-year-old, who is known for her song Sha La La, said dangdut was respected in the early 2000s and was not condemned or labelled as obscene, unlike today.

“It is different now as dangdut singers are despised and condemned for their social media content,” she told Kosmo!.

She blamed the artistes concerned and not dangdut, lamenting that senior dangdut singers had been dragged into the controversy.

While acknowledging that creating such content would attract more followers, Ani Maiyuni said this should not be the approach to selling one’s talent.

She was recently criticised for commenting on some current dangdut singers who sensationalise their video content.

Ani Maiyuni, whose real name is Aishah An-Nur Osman, will be taking part in Konset Goyang Asia Koplo Melinia at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Centre on Aug 12.

> Terengganu state executive councillor Dr Azman Ibrahim regrets seeing a recent viral video of a farmer deliberately stepping on unharvested watermelons.

“It is such a waste that God’s bounty is damaged and trodden.

“I, too, am a child of a farmer. I grew up and studied abroad, thanks to the fruits of the harvest.

“It touches me when I see all this,” he said on Facebook, as reported by Harian Metro.

Azman, who is in charge of the agriculture, plantation, commodity and rural development portfolios, said he had identified the location of the watermelon plantation in Setiu, which was depicted in the 26-second video.

He said the incident occurred when the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority was in the process of purchasing watermelons at RM1 per kilo from farmers.

Azman acknowledged that the price of watermelons had fallen recently, but the issue of low prices also involved other local fruits.

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.