"Wake Up, Malaysians!" (Roslan Aziz 2005)

Disclaimer: Up ahead are rants from the writer. The rants are not meant to be prejudiced but are from personal opinions based on the talents that were heard.

Life is unfair. A good example of this statement can be seen in the recent Malaysian Idols results. Two of the most talented among the 11, Trish and Atilia, were eliminated from the Idols. They were eliminated not because they do not have the talent but because they were not as pleasing to the eyes as others. I could name a few people who should not be allowed to continue in the Idol journey and at the top of the list is Ash.

I've heard Ash's performance during the Workshop round and during the Spectaculars and frankly, I feel that he doesn't even deserved to get past the Workshop round to be in the top 11. His place should be given to somebody who deserves it better. But no, Malaysians seem to have their eyes on him and he sailed through to the spectaculars. During the Spectacular performance, it was so obvious that Ash sang out of tune a couple of times. I had high hopes that he would not garner enough votes to sail through but once again, Malaysians seem to have their ears plugged when they were watching the Spectaculars. Clearly, they are just watching it with their eyes, but not listening to the singers with their ears. I don't consider myself as a Malaysian Idol fan but this is just too much. Ash should be at the bottom of the list. Not Trish. Not Atilia.

When the results were announced, I sat shell-shocked. I wasn't able to move a single limb and all of a sudden, I just seem to have lost my voice. When I finally found my voice and ability to move my limbs around, I practically screamed my head off and kept yelling, "That is so UNFAIR!! That is so freaking UNFAIR!!" Just like what Roslan Aziz had said, "Wake up, Malaysians!" Wake up to real talents instead of voting for your friend or family who clearly doesn't show much versatility. Yes, Ash has the voice quality to sing certain songs. Yes, his voice is suitable for the right songs but he just doesn't have the versatility and talent to go far. And it doesn't help that he has a cocky attitude at times. When Roslan Aziz criticise his performance, Ash gave this really cocky shrug and even I'm turn off by the gesture.

All the judges were upset and in shock, except for Paul Moss who managed to control his emotions. He seemed to have given in to the thought that Malaysians would always pack a punch of surprises during the Idols results. Even Jien, the Idols host looked clearly upset over the results that were announced. You can see his face clouding all over and he just seem to lost his spring and bubbly attitude after seeing Trish and Atilia leave the show. I wish things could have been better for Trish and Atilia. I wish they were the ones who got to stay instead of leaving. But clearly, Ash has the support of his friends and family and we cannot change the results. I'm still in shock. It is all so surreal. I've never been affected by any reality TV show like this before and this is a first. I still can't believe that most Malaysians and tone deaf to the extent that they can't distinguish between a good and bad singer. Oh, how I wish Ash got eliminated in this round of Spectaculars. Looking at the way things are going, I doubt I'll stay tune for long to Malaysian Idols. If Ash manages to sail through round 2 of the Spectaculars, I'm just going to give up on the show and my fellow Malaysians for losing their common sense.