Comel? salah laa....kawaii.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)

Have you ever heard about J-Pop? Do you know anything about J-Pop? Well, J-Pop is a term specially designated to a genre of a pop-music originated from Japan. Now, let me assume you're not aJapanese anime and manga fan. Why? because most otaku, they tend to like most of the anime songs. That answers the reason of a recent survey done by Oricon, a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. According to the survey, K-On!!, an anime series which has become a phenomenon in Japan, especially in the anime world, ranks top for few consecutive weeks, thanks to the voice actress's fans (mostly otakus).  

Now, this J-Pop phenomenon are so famous, it has across the ocean and now....it's in Malaysia. The latest trend, a new talented teen singer, Fiffy has hit the nation! When I was in Malaysia for cuti raya, I did read some articles in newspaper about a new teen idol who sing a song of a J-Pop genre. At that moment I felt, ahh.....another wannabe. But last week, Nah, enjoy the song.

Who is this new young talent? Let's take a look at her profile.

Name: Fiffy Natasya Binti Suhaimi
Nickname: Fify
Race: Malay
Religion: Muslim. No, let me rewrite it. MUSLIM
Date of birth: 26th April 1993
Zodiac: Taurus
Height: 143 cm
Weight: 38kg
Hobby: Watch Movies, Singing
Favourite music: All Music
Profession: Singer, Actress,Model, Emcee & Student

Telemovies:
    *  RTM “On Call”
    * “Rakan Pintar”

Experience:
    * Astro “Maya”
    * Commercial TV3 – “Simfoni Syawal”, “Mengundi”
    * Commercial “Courts Mamouth”
    * Commercial RTM - “Ceti Haram” & “Cetak Rompak”
    * Model Magazine –Bintang Kecil
    * Model Duta Sek. Men Taman Keramat (1)
    * Presenter “Programme Kids” - RTM

Movie:
    * Cinta Kolestrol
    * I Know What You Did Last Raya
    * Cinta Fotokopi (2004)
    * Main-Main Cinta (2005)

Album:
    * Kumpulan Wardah – 3rd Album
    * Solo Album “Kawan”- (Jan 2005)

Movie:
    * Cinta Kolestrol
    * I Know What You Did Last Raya

Drama:
    * Slot Samarinda “Sephia” TV3
    * Kisah Benar TV3
    * Cerekarama “Misteri Syakila”, “Situasi”.

Achievement:
    * 1st Winner “Patriotik” – The Mines
    * 1st Winner “Talent Kids – Maju Junction
    * 1st Winner “Ms. Citrawarna”-Nilai 3, Pusat Pelancongan, Negeri Sembilan
    * 1st Winner “Superstar Kid - Carrefour

Activities: Frenclub SMS interactive programme.

Sounds very talented eh? Well, she is talented, I suppose. I guess this kid admires Japan and the music industry so much. Too much, I think.

Just because you added some of the Japanese words, in this case the word 'kawaii' (cute) and 'hontou ni' (really/actuall), doesn't really make your song a J-Pop song. Plus, the music sounds very familiar with most of the anime theme song, don't you think? Maybe, shounen or shoujo-type manga/anime, if I'm not mistaken. What is shounen and shoujo? Shōnen manga is a popular genre of Japanese comics, generally about action/fighting but often contains a sense of humor and strong growing friendship-bonds between the characters. In Japan, the word shōjo has many applications outside of the law. It refers to anything of, for, or about school-age girls.Examples include shōjo manga, shōjo culture, shōjo novels, shōjo hobbies, and shōjo fashions, among others. Appearance? Yeah, I guess this kid's outfit does look similar to some famous idol/singer in Japan. A quick view at her profile in facebook, I found one of the wall photos does look JPop-ish. Wearing a school uniform outfit with an innocent face..............oh, and one more thing, that compulsory 'peace' sign stuff at your cheek. There you go. A JPop idol !! Yay! Yay!.

It's a good try kiddo! Now, the trends in Malaysia once again will change, soon enough, maybe. To where? To J-pop style. What is the essence of Japanese style? Simple. Men becomes more manly (for those who know the special term - kakkoii). Girls become cuter (in this case, kawaii-er). Malaysian, we always admire anything foreign. Be it cars, industry, people, fashion and bla bla bla. Let's just focus on fashion for now. If you go to Japan, don't forget to observe the fashion of some Malaysian students, majority a Muslim. Now, it's not surprising anymore if I say, some of those student dyed their hair, pierced their ears, and even tattooed. Never mind. Maybe they're just trying to follow the proverb, "When you're in Rome, do as the Roman". Maybe a little change,  "When you're in Japan, wear as the Japanese wear". Barulah cool brader. So, what's the point of being cool? Trying to attract Japanese girls attention? Well, good luck then. Just remember, once a 'mat bangla'. you can never be a 'mat salleh', no matter how fluent you are in their language, or how up-to-date your fashion is. Get over with it lad. Have some pride as Malaysian will ya'?

Oh, one more thing fiffy-shumell-san. For your information, here in Japan, there are lots of posters and signs, directed especially for men. During peak hours, most of the trains in Japan became too congested with people, mostly salaryman, a Japanese word used to refer to white collar workers. On such times, women became so prone to attack from molesters. In Japan, if such cases occurred, some women preferred not to report it to the authorities, mainly because of shame. Does that happen in Malaysia? No, I don't think so. If it does, I think the molester will be as good as lempeng lunyai by the time the police arrive, thanks to Malaysian's attitude of suka jaga kain orang lain (Care about others). Here in Japan, they were quite individualistic, I can say. You don't mess with me, I won't mess with you. Now, think again why such immoral behavior occurred in such a great country? Is it the men's fault? Or is it the women who love to wear such a dedah-dedah dress which tempted a lot of unwanted stares from guys? ハラスメント (ha-ra-su-me-n-to) is quite common in Japan, be it inside a train, at the office, even in schools. Yeah, kids nowadays are a fast-learners don't you think? That's why we as Muslim had a perfect guideline in our life, left by the greatest person ever lived on the earth. What's our guideline? The Holy Al-Quran. Who left it for us? Our beloved prophet, Muhammad S.A.W. So, rather than following J-Pop style of dressing, singing blablabla, why don't you follow our example then. I wonder what would be your answer if someone asks; "Is it OK for you as a Muslimah to colour your hair and wear those miniskirts?".......

Sometimes, to solve problem, we shouldn't progress forward. There are times where we should turn back and look for the roots of the problems. In Malaysia's case, the recently operational pregnant teens- Sekolah Harapan- or "school of hope". It's reported that ever since it has been opened to public, no one has enrolled in the controversial facility (Source: here). You see, we spend a lot of money to build that school. Shouldn't it be easier if the authority in charge sit for a while and think for a long term solution. Will there be a guarantee the problems of baby dumping among teenagers solved? From my personal opinion, I personally think the school was there as a free facility, a getaway for teenagers from being dumped or even killed by their own family. Which means, you can still 'do' it, but please come to this school.

"Kerana apa kami tahu? Kami juga pernah muda remaja.........seperti anda!"(another phrase from iklan Malaysia) 

Entah la fiffy-shumell-san....if you're reading this, the change is in your hand...(iklan CELCOM ke?)

p/s: Keep on blaming guys as the reason of immorality problems in today's world. It's not women's fault actually. No, no really. They shouldn't be blamed. Mereka kan insan yang lemah... You fight for feminism? Women rights? A little unfair I could say....