THE HOT SEAT: Is that a yes or no?

taken from Malay Mail online
The Nosey Buzz team

July 18
AKADEMI Fantasia 3’s frontrunner Asmawi Ani, better known as Mawi, has become quite a sensation.

The attention the 24-year-old Johorean has been getting in newspapers, magazines and the Internet can challenge that of many celebrities.

But just like any adored star in the making, not all that’s being said or written about Mawi is good.

There are some jealous souls quick to quibble about any flaw or shortcoming they may find about him.

The latest rumour spreading about Mawi is that he and AF principal M. Nasir are related – thus claims of the music maestro favouring him in the competition.

So What? invited Nasir to sit on The Hot Seat to shed some light on that.

THE HOT SEAT

MANY were surprised when music ‘sifu’ M. Nasir accepted the offer to head the faculty of ‘Akademi Fantasia 3’.

They assumed that a respected artiste of his prestige would be averse to being a part of something so commercial.

And by becoming AF3 principal, Nasir has had to endure more criticism than before when he was just a singer, songwriter and actor.

Some have queried why his songs are often picked as assignments for the contestants.

Then, there are those who claim that he favours some of the contestants more than others.

Those brickbats came fast and heavy after the wildcard entries of Mawi and Marsha.

Lately, So What? was told that Nasir is very much related to Mawi – a hint that he’s favouring the crowd favourite.

Nasir’s reaction to the rumour was simply laughter, followed by a moment of silence. But just when we expected a denial next, Nasir said: “I don’t know....”

When we asked him directly whether Mawi was really related to him, he just answered: “Is that for sure?... I don’t know.”

When it’s mentioned that Mawi is from Kulai, Johor, the Singapore-born Nasir replied: “When it comes to Johor, I don’t know... not that I know of, anyway.”

With that puzzling reply, Nasir ended the topic of whether he was a relative of Mawi.

The discussion shifted to the reality of how popularity is proving to be more important than talent, as reflected in the SMS votes.

Nasir simply said: “That’s the honesty of the people .”

He added that though ideally, the judging should be based on talent, ‘this is a reality TV show’.

On the show’s fanatical fans, Nasir said: “In a way, it’s disturbing to some people. But then again, the show thrives on eliciting reactions. So, as long as these fans don’t go overboard, I don’t see anything wrong.’’

Despite his high standards, Nasir sees some solid talents in the show.

“For these talented performers, no matter how they fare in the show, they’re set for a career in the music industry.’