Anyone of you seen the Oprah Prime Time with Paula Malai Ali....

[song cm]

Hey, anyone of you saw that episode....It was shown on Astro 2 to 3 weeks ago.....

[Sarah]

huh??ci cant even find Paula's name in oprah.com

[song cm]

Oprah was doin an episod on 30 something (age) women from all over the world and Paula was selected to represent Malaysia...

[song cm]

She appeared for like 5 mins and she said that an average Malaysia woman goes for a massage once a week and an average 30something women earns around USD1,500 to USD2,000 (RM5,700 to RM7,800)

[song cm]

Since when is she an average Malaysian women? Some more mixed blood one...

[athena]

Paula Malai Ali if i am not mistaken is not even Malaysian...she's from Brunei!

[Sarah]

When Malaysians found out that Bruneian Paula Malai Ali was picked to talk about her life in Malaysia on The Oprah Winfrey Show – ostensibly representing middleclass Malaysian women in their 30s – they were bemused. StarTwo finds out who would make us feel proud.

LastWednesday, a friend from the United States e-mailed me to say he had just seen an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in which viewers were taken around the world to see how women in their 30s lived.

“Hey, you might be interested that I watched Oprah today, and she had a woman on from Malaysia talking about what the lifestyle for a ‘middle class or higher’ person with a decent job and income is like; and one of the things they showed is this woman getting a massage.


Paula Malai Ali
“The segment sure made it look like a woman from there would be a GREAT ‘catch’ as we say here in the States; in other words, a GREAT woman to develop a committed relationship with!” (The words in capitals are his own.)

A quick word with my colleagues and a check with the Oprah website told us that model/emcee/actress Paula Malai Ali was the one featured. However, a phone call to Astro folk told us that we would only get to watch the “Around the World” episode in Malaysia in December. There is a fetching picture of Paula on the website wearing an off-shoulder blouse in her living room.

The following appears on the website (www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200410/20041006/slide_20041006_108.jhtml) among the other brief write-ups about young women from Iraq, Kuwait, Faroe Islands (north Atlantic Ocean), Brazil, South Korea, France, England and Rwanda: “As a 30-year-old woman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Paula pays about 250 US dollars (RM950) to rent her three-bedroom, twobathroom apartment. ‘I’ve also got a beautiful swimming pool. We’ve got tennis courts here.

An average 30-year-old woman in Malaysia will earn something like 1,500 -2,000 US dollars (RM5,700-RM7,600) a month. So, as you can see, every month we have plenty of change left over to buy that pair of must-have Jimmy Choos… did you know that Jimmy Choo is actually from Malaysia?'

“Bi-weekly massages are a way of life for Paula. A one-hour massage here will cost her between 7–10 US dollars (RM27-RM38). And Paula says many Malaysian women don’t pluck or wax to remove hair — they use a procedure known as threading. ‘I don’t know how (the threaders) do it. They get really precise. It’s painless and it only costs five ringgit. That would be about $1.15 in America.”

While Malaysians are generally excited about someone here being featured – even just for three minutes – on Oprah, some of the young women in my office railed: “First of all, Paula is from Brunei. Secondly, not many women here earn RM5,700 to RM7,600 a month at age 30. Was there no Malaysian woman nominated?”


Asha Gill apparently suggested by a few people as the face of the Malaysian women in their 30s.
When asked about the salary quote by my colleague later, Paula said she only knew what she, her sister and her friends earned. It turned out that Paula had three days between the phone interview and taping session, so she could have found out what the average 30-year-old Malaysian woman really earned if she had wanted to.

Before we say another word, let it be known though that Paula was handpicked by Harpo Productions, the company that runs the Oprah show, from a list of several women from South-East Asian countries and Hong Kong after an hour-long phone interview. The list was given by STAR Regional, the company that runs Star World, which broadcasts the Oprah show in this region.

To see what other folk out there thought, we asked a random selection of Malaysians who they would like to see representing 30- something middle-class Malaysian women on a show such as Oprah’s. It turned out to be not such a simple exercise. A few would-be interviewees could not come up with a single name and begged off, and a few gave the criteria but could not name anyone. So perhaps we cannot really blame STAR Regional for naming someone they are familiar with.

(Apparently, although Asha Gill was suggested by a few people, the emcee/television host/producer was not in the country at the time.)

While there were some who said, “Don't ask me; I don’t have an opinion,” there was a self-assured young woman who, when asked, “Who would you nominate?”, candidly proclaimed: “Me!” This medical doctor aged 35 is now a director of sales and marketing for a multi-national corporation; she speaks well, contributes regularly to several periodicals, looks good, plays the piano, sings well, and she cooks too. Her interests include film, books, writing, fashion and nail art. Is she a prime example of the confident and highachieving New Woman in Malaysia?

Since the episode is already in the can, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that should such an opportunity as appearing on an internationally syndicated programme arise again, Malaysians will be better prepared to put forth some Malaysian names we can all be proud of. – By Lou Joon Yee

[piglet]

When Malaysians found out that Bruneian Paula Malai Ali was picked to talk about her life in Malaysia on The Oprah Winfrey Show – ostensibly representing middleclass Malaysian women in their 30s – they were bemused. StarTwo finds out who would make us feel proud.

LastWednesday, a friend from the United States e-mailed me to say he had just seen an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in which viewers were taken around the world to see how women in their 30s lived.

“Hey, you might be interested that I watched Oprah today, and she had a woman on from Malaysia talking about what the lifestyle for a ‘middle class or higher’ person with a decent job and income is like; and one of the things they showed is this woman getting a massage.


Paula Malai Ali
“The segment sure made it look like a woman from there would be a GREAT ‘catch’ as we say here in the States; in other words, a GREAT woman to develop a committed relationship with!” (The words in capitals are his own.)

A quick word with my colleagues and a check with the Oprah website told us that model/emcee/actress Paula Malai Ali was the one featured. However, a phone call to Astro folk told us that we would only get to watch the “Around the World” episode in Malaysia in December. There is a fetching picture of Paula on the website wearing an off-shoulder blouse in her living room.

The following appears on the website (www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200410/20041006/slide_20041006_108.jhtml) among the other brief write-ups about young women from Iraq, Kuwait, Faroe Islands (north Atlantic Ocean), Brazil, South Korea, France, England and Rwanda: “As a 30-year-old woman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Paula pays about 250 US dollars (RM950) to rent her three-bedroom, twobathroom apartment. ‘I’ve also got a beautiful swimming pool. We’ve got tennis courts here.

An average 30-year-old woman in Malaysia will earn something like 1,500 -2,000 US dollars (RM5,700-RM7,600) a month. So, as you can see, every month we have plenty of change left over to buy that pair of must-have Jimmy Choos… did you know that Jimmy Choo is actually from Malaysia?'

“Bi-weekly massages are a way of life for Paula. A one-hour massage here will cost her between 7–10 US dollars (RM27-RM38). And Paula says many Malaysian women don’t pluck or wax to remove hair — they use a procedure known as threading. ‘I don’t know how (the threaders) do it. They get really precise. It’s painless and it only costs five ringgit. That would be about $1.15 in America.”

While Malaysians are generally excited about someone here being featured – even just for three minutes – on Oprah, some of the young women in my office railed: “First of all, Paula is from Brunei. Secondly, not many women here earn RM5,700 to RM7,600 a month at age 30. Was there no Malaysian woman nominated?”
.............


I don't think she represent a M'sian woman

[Sarah]

I don't think she represent a M'sian woman

agree... she's a superficial person...

[song cm]

agree... she's a superficial bitch..

That is kinda extreme...U know her presonally?

[Sarah]

That is kinda extreme...U know her presonally?

nola...im sorry laa..shouldnt judge harshly... i apologize... i've made my correction... :)

[Rayhong]

agree... she's a superficial person...

oohh oohh then you should read my post about paula and her irritating accent. do a search with the keyword 'paula' or 'accent' and you should get it

the first few pages of Proverbs, captions...

[song cm]

nola...im sorry laa..shouldnt judge harshly... i apologize... i've made my correction... :)

Don woli...I don know her as well....but I don think you are far off, though... :)

[piglet]

nola...im sorry laa..shouldnt judge harshly... i apologize... i've made my correction... :)

I think she's putting on a show..

By the way threading.. u know Indian thread their eyebrow...
They will use a thread...and start threading the eyebrow..
I saw my my friend did it at Little India in S'pore.. looks like she's going to cry...

[athena]

yea...when i was in UNi...my roomate was indian...she told me the first time she went to thread her eyebrows...she WAS crying...those really hurt like hell...

[captainc]

Probably she is just pure ignorant that there is "other" ppl in Malaysia outside her circle of friends that is struggling to make end meet.

I remember once seeing on discovery channel featuring asha gill and malaysia, and all the show did was to flaunt her rich and famous friends in their ghastly big mansion, talking in their strange accent and playing polos (or whatever else the rich and famous does)....self indulgence to the fullest.

[LiLiaN]

oh...i think i remember the program too... yup, showcasing only the highflyers... what happen to just ordinary people like us..? wait till i try to contact discovery people.... maybe we can have a special show to showcase sitiawan and pangkor (pavorotti loves the place - albeit at pangkor laut)... and the ORDINARY life of people....

[Fulat]

I want to be an average 30yo malaysian woman!! so I can go for a cheap massage at a classy place at least once a week! Yippee!!!

I saw that episode and I wondered was she refering to woman in Malaysia or some other part of the world...hmmm.....

[LiLiaN]

I want to be an average 30yo malaysian woman!! so I can go for a cheap massage at a classy place at least once a week! Yippee!!!
want cheap massage.... i've heard that thailand is good for that... but the price to get there may hike up the overall cost....

[song cm]

I want to be an average 30yo malaysian woman!! so I can go for a cheap massage at a classy place at least once a week! Yippee!!!

I saw that episode and I wondered was she refering to woman in Malaysia or some other part of the world...hmmm.....

Good point....yah, i thot she was referring to women in Brunei, probably....

[ausman]

agree... she's a superficial person...
Agreed with artemis...
She not even Malaysian and claimed to know how much Malaysian women in 30s earn... I think she was looking At RM instead of USD :cool: