Year in Review 2020: Yahoo Malaysia readers’ most searched Malaysian male personalities
With the upheaval in the country’s politics, it is no wonder that various political big names lined the list of Yahoo Malaysia readers’ most searched Malaysian male personalities. From politics to entertainment, here are Yahoo Malaysia readers’ top 10 most searched Malaysian male personalities of 2020.
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Year in Review 2020: Yahoo Malaysia readers’ most searched Malaysian female personalities
10. Ashraf Sinclair
Well-known for his role as Eddy in the 2005 film Gol & Gincu, Malaysian actor Ashraf Sinclair resided in Indonesia after his marriage with Indonesian singer Bunga Citra Lestari. In February 2020, Sinclair died of a heart attack at Metropolitan Medical Centre in Jakarta, leaving behind his wife and 10-year-old son.
9. Ahirudin Attan (Rocky bru)
A Malaysian blogger and journalist, Datuk Ahirudin bin Attan, who’s also known as Rocky Bru, is a former editor of several publications, including The Business Times, The Malay Mail and The Sunday Mail.
As President of the National Press Club of Malaysia, he was present at the hearing of journalist Wan Noorhayati Wan Alias, who was charged with rumour-mongering; she shared her concerns about COVID-19 and also asked for tighter controls and greater transparency from the authorities.
8. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Dato Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a Malaysian orthopaedic surgeon and the first Malaysian astronaut. The 47-year-old made news during the Movement Control Order (MCO) when he shared a photo on his Instagram as a food delivery rider. Co-owning the 17-year-old eatery, Rebung Restaurant, with famed Chef Ismail, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar captioned his post “Being a delivery Boy”.
7. Muhyiddin Yassin
Malaysia’s eighth Prime Minister, Muhyiddin bin Haji Muhammad Yassin, came into power in March 2020 after Mahathir’s abrupt resignation in February. Having served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs and in many other Cabinet positions under former Prime Ministers, he is the first person appointed as Prime Minister while holding both a parliamentary and state seat at the same time.
6. Nabil Aqil
Malaysian actor-model Nabil Aqil had acted in several television dramas and series before making his feature film debut in August 2020. Initially planned for an April release, the comedy-horror film, Takut Ke Tak, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film centres on Nabil’s character, film student Abbas, and his friends, who wanted to film the best horror movie for their graduation, picking a haunted house for their location. The group soon realised that there are restless spirits amongst them and must now figure a way to escape.
5. Anwar Ibrahim
A prominent figure in Malaysia’s politics, Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim contested in the Port Dickson by-election in 2018, allowing his return into politics. Designated to take over interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, which was planned and agreed before the election, it was later reported that Mahathir planned to block Anwar from becoming prime minister. The feud between Anwar and fellow-politician Mahathir in 2020 pathed the way to Muhyiddin Yassin’s premiership.
4. Mahathir Bin Mohamad
Served twice as Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad was the oldest currently-serving state leader at the time of his resignation in March 2020. The unprecedented victory in the 2018 Malaysian general election by the coalition government of Pakatan Harapan named Mahathir the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, during which he had promised to hand over the position of Prime Minister to Anwar in two years. Mahathir resigned from his position on 24 February 2020, following disagreements on the exact date of handover to Anwar.
3. Raja Petra Kamarudin
A Malaysian blogger, most known for publishing controversial commentaries and articles on Malaysian politics, Raja Petra Kamarudin was dealt with a defamation lawsuit from former finance minister Lim Guan Eng. Kamarudin had written an expose based on leaked evidence of the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project, alleging corruption was involved, thus implicating Lim and various state executive councillors.
2. Paul Tan
Motoring journalist Paul Tan is best known for Paul Tan’s Automotive News, a popular news portal that reports on the Malaysian and ASEAN automotive scenes. The managing director of Driven Communications Sdn. Bhd., Tan’s website was also the basis for the 2010 - 2015 television programme, Driven.
1. Najib Razak
At #1 amongst Yahoo Malaysia readers’ most searched is Najib Razak, the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia who had fallen from grace after losing the 2018 Malaysian General Elections.
As part of the new government’s investigation into the 1MDB scandal, police have searched and seized properties and belongings linked to Najib and his wife. He was subsequently charged and convicted on all seven counts of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering. Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and fined RM210 million.
READ:
Year in Review 2020: Yahoo Malaysia readers’ most searched Malaysian female personalities
