Jaclyn Victor: Someone Once Said I Shouldn’t Have Won ‘Malaysian Idol’ Because I’m Not Malay

During a recent episode of the You Syu’d Know podcast, Malaysian singer, actress, businesswoman and the very first winner of Malaysian Idol, Jaclyn Victor, shared that, following her Malaysian Idol win in 2004, someone had said that she should not have won the singing competition because she is not Malay.

You Syu’d Know wrote, “There is a person who once said Jaclyn Victor should NOT have won Malaysian Idol because she is not Malay. Don’t be like that. Aren’t we Malaysians? Born in Malaysia, IC is Malaysian. We should be proud of the talent that Jaclyn Victor has. Whatever it is, Jaclyn Victor still works hard like any other Malaysian.”

During the podcast episode, Jaclyn Victor revealed that although the comment wasn’t directed at her, it eventually made its way back to her.

“Let me just say something, somebody said I shouldn’t have won because I’m not Malay. It’s okay, let’s not touch on that anymore. But, this was in the beginning. So, I’m like, ‘Where am I going to sing, Indian Idol?‘. That one shocked me a lot, because the person who said it, of course they didn’t say it to me, but it came back to me,”

“This person is very cool, very hip and happening. Suddenly, from their mouth, something like that can come out. I’m thinking, ‘I’m Malaysian, I’m born here, I’m raised here, I speak Bahasa (Malaysia – BM)‘. So, for somebody to say something like that is like…” she trailed off before adding that it’s okay and that it’s the person’s opinion.

However, she did not let the remark affect her

“It does not define who I am, it does not define what I do, you know? 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. Working hard.”

You can check out the clip from the podcast here: 

@yousyudknow

Ada orang pernah kata yang @Jaclyn Victor TAK patut menang Malaysian Idol kerana dia bukan orang Melayu. Hhmmmm.. Jangan macam tu. Kite kan orang Malaysia. Lahir di Malaysia, IC pun Malaysia. Kite patut berbangga dengan Talent yang ada pada Jac ni. Apa-apa pun Jac tetap work hard seperti rakyat Malaysia yang lain. Episode penuh ada kat link. Jom layannnn.. #podcast #yousyudknow #malaysianpodcast #malaysianidol #idol #melayu #bukanmelayu #malaysian #rakyatmalaysia

♬ original sound – You Syu’D Know – You Syu’D Know

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