RENOWNED local artist Jaclyn Victor has recently alleged to have heard a remark in regards to her race pertaining to her Malaysian Idol win 20 years ago.
In a podcast by @yousyudknow on TikTok, the 56-year-old songstress and businesswoman spoke up about the statement how she should not have gotten the Malaysian Idol title, simply because she is not Malay, as per her claim.
Jaclyn was the first singer to be crowned the winner of Malaysian Idol in 2004.
After a bit of a shocked silence between the podcast host, Syuhaida Ariffin, and the ‘Gemilang’ singer, Jaclyn mentioned that there was no need to touch on the topic further however, she pointed out that she heard the remark in the beginning of her musical journey.
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“So where do I sing? Indian Idol?” she quipped sarcastically in the podcast episode.
Jaclyn then clarified that the remark made by the individual “came back to her” and not uttered directly to her.
“This shocked me a lot because the person who said it – this person is cool, very hip and happening but this (kind of comment) can come out of their mouth.
“I’m thinking... I’m Malaysian. I’m born here, I’m raised here - I (can) speak (in) Bahasa (Melayu) so for somebody to say something like that ... but it’s okay. It’s just that I was shocked at the time,” she added.
Jaclyn then pointed out that the individual’s opinion does not define who she is and what she does.
“There will be all kinds of things said about you. I think, at the end of the day, you really need to focus on what you want, and just work. Keep working hard,” she said at the end of the video.
