By GORDON KHO




One thing enjoyable about the concerts in Akademi Fantasia 3 (AF3) this year was the judges that graced the show.

While some were polite and gave safe comments, there were others like actor Adlin Ramlee and director Mamat Khalid who laced their criticisms with humour.

Then there is Shafinaz Selamat, a guest judge on three concerts. The gutsy singer and vocal trainer at Universiti Teknologi Mara and National Arts Academy, does not mince words and wasn’t afraid to give constructive criticisms at the concert even though she was often jeered by the audience.

So, in sussing out the final four, we got Syafinaz’s views. We also quizzed fans to find out how they defend their idols.

Amylea Azizan (19), from Langkawi, Kedah



Syafinaz: Amylea has a unique voice, but she has the habit of imitating the original singer in the beginning of a song. She should trust herself more and stick to her own style.

Fan Tristi, 28, designer: Amylea should win because she has been consistent from the beginning and every song that she sang, she injected her own style. I also like her enthusiasm to learn.

Felix Agus (23), Kota Belud, Sabah



Syafinaz: I like his voice which is light tenor. He has a likeable personality but too much clowning around isn’t good either. If he keeps training especially on his high range, Felix will go far.

Fan Chandran M., 27, account manager: I think Felix will win because he is a well-rounded performer. He is able to deliver any genre of song. He is also candid, sincere and comfortable on stage.

Marsha Milan Londoh (20), Tamparuli, Sabah



Syafinaz: Marsha’s voice projection has improved and she has, what we call, a package – voice, looks and a budak baik (wholesome) image.

Fan Lailatul Halaliah, 29, bank executive: I want Marsha to win because she has the whole package – beauty and talent. And she can play the piano as well.

Asmawi Ani (24), Kulai, Johor



Syafinaz: Mawi sounds better when he sings than when he speaks. He has a problem with tempo so he needs to improve on that. However, he has shown lots of progress and is more consistent these days. A pleasant guy to look at, if Mawi chooses the right genre, he will excel.

Fan Nurul, 28, assistant store manager: Mawi should be the winner because he is not pretentious. This is a unique trait for a male singer in Malaysia. He has improved a lot and has a manly voice.

http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/5/tvnradio/11650183&sec=tvnradio

Roy Goh

KOTA KINABALU, Thurs

The coffee shop talk in the State these days is not hot political issues but a guy named Felix and a girl named Marsha.
They are two of the four finalists in the Akademi Fantasia concert to be held at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam on Saturday.

Felix Agus from Kota Belud and Marsha Milan Londoh from Tamparuli will be competing with Asmawi "Mawi" Ani of Kulai, Johor, and Amylea Azizan from Langkawi.

Each finalist has a strong following and the weekend’s live event will see their legions of fans who can’t be at the stadium glued to their television sets.

In Kota Belud, four big television screens will be erected by the Felix Fan Club to allow his fans to watch the show.

Zul Sidin, a Felix fan, said Felix had stayed in second place behind Mawi since the second concert.

However, with the departure of Yazer Yusof, Zul hoped more votes would go his idol’s way.

Yazer and another AF contender, Zulkefli Idir, were eliminated in the last concert.

Marsha’s father, Milan Londoh, said this would be the first time he would be watching his daughter perform.

"My wife (Missie Basanda) watched the concert for the first time last week and for the final I will be going.

"To see Marsha make it to the final is a bonus as she was the underdog last week as far as I was concerned. But we managed to push her to the final," Milan said.

"Now whatever happens, I am ready for it."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20050805083412/Article/indexb_html

Amir Hafizi & Adly Syairi Ramly
Kuala Lumpur, August 5:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



With the finals just two days away, fans of Akademi Fantasia finalists Asmawi Ani (Mawi) and Felix Agus are locked in a psychological war.


Fans of Felix (left) and Mawi are locked in a ‘psychological war’ over who deserves to win

MawiFC.net carried postings from worried fans of Mawi that Felix is now ahead of their idol in SMS votes which would decide the outcome of the show.

“Until yesterday afternoon, the percentage of votes went up for a moment at Astro’s Channel@15. My mom told me that Felix is ahead at 39 per cent and Mawi at 34 per cent. My aunt said the same thing, so it must be true,” posted one Amidala.

The tempo escalated, as rumours raged like wildfire.

The biggest target is Felix — Mawi’s closest competitor. Several Mawi fans even speculated that Felix’s pole position was due to ‘outside forces’ at work.

“Don’t be surprised with Felix’s rise in votes. I heard timber tycoons are sponsoring (prepaid) reload coupons to vote for Felix, not to mention Sabah millionaires who are giving handouts to Felix’s fans,” posted Big Joe.

“If this is the case, we can never fight them.”

This rumour was compounded by other forum members in different threads. One of them was titled ‘Gempar — RM2 juta untuk undi Felix.’ (Shocking—RM 2 million to vote for Felix).

“There are businessmen and organisations from Sabah raising RM2 million to vote for Felix,” posted mimalifwauya.

“So don’t slack off, keep on voting for Mawi, don’t make him a victim of the situation. Spread this to everyone. Don’t chat anymore at Channel 15, and don’t vote for Marsha or Amylea. We must unite and continue our fight to lift Mawi as champion. WORLD!!!”

Some fans at MawiFC, though, remain sceptical of the rumours.

“It would be better if they just give the RM2 million to Felix,” posted Julianaharraz.

“The main prize is a Suzuki Swift, which is less than RM100,000. The house is also around RM200,000. So if Felix’s fans really do have RM2 million, they might as well just give it to him. Unless they’re really stupid businessmen.”

Yet there are still those with enough fiery emotions to cause some concern.

“It’s not logical. Mawi has been leading for nine weeks, and now in just two days, Felix can overtake him!. This Astro programme is so illogical,” posted gooddevil73.

Things in Felix’s camps are pretty happening too.

A visit to The Official Felix Agus Fan Club (FAF) website reveals that instead of getting worried about rumours, Felix fans are taking more calculated measures to ensure their idol would defy the odds and emerge the winner of Akademi Fantasia 3.

A fan, Neo-S, came up with a detailed breakdown of population statistics in Sabah (the state Felix hails from) and the rest of Malaysia to predict how many votes are needed to oust Mawi.

On top of the statistics, Neo-S also came up with a 10-point strategy, among which is to encourage those who don’t own a handphone to buy RM10, RM20, RM30 or more reload cards and borrow a handphone from any possible source.



On top of the ‘brilliant’ suggestions, we also came across some that are pretty original.

ZaChi-ZaTaN, one of the FAF forum members suggested applying for the post of vote tabulator at Astro’s main offices.

“That way, we can reject all votes that go to Mawi, or transfer everything to Felix’s account.”

Some fans of the show, however, have voiced concern that the legions of Mawi and Felix fanatics could cause some problems during the finals this Saturday.

Amin_al_Kalam, at Cari.com.my, wrote, “I am excited to go to the finals. At the same time, I am worried for my safety because I’m sure that fans of both Mawi and Felix will go all out to make sure their ‘team’ wins.”

http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Friday/National/20050805104908/Article/index_html

Consiparacy theories fire up forums
Amir Hafizi & Adly Syairi Ramly
KUALA LUMPUR , August 4:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing for sure. Akademi Fantasia fans are a passionate lot. The recent decision by show producers Astro not to reveal the percentage of votes of the final four students only added fuel to the fire for conspiracy theories.


Just a simple surf of Akademi Fantasia-related sites and forums revealed a certain perception that the results and direction of the popular reality show has been manipulated since the beginning.

One of the interesting comments that might sum up the whole show came from Cari.com.my forum member SyD:

“You think this is all coincidence? I think not. Malaysian TV stations still are not brave enough to let their reality programmes have a life of its own. They are still dependent on script and deliberate video editing.”

Most comments on the Internet forums, however, were about ringgit and sen. They believe that Astro is trying to squeeze as much money as possible from viewers and staunch followers of Akademi Fantasia.

Every time a ‘controversy’ develops, comments will pour into Astro@15 channel via SMS — which is certainly a profit-generating venture.


CONSPIRACY THEORIES

l On the recent decision not to reveal the percentage of votes of the final four students:

“Since the conspiracy to oust Mawi during the ninth concert was foiled, is this Astro’s last move, if not, the safest move to stop Mawi from winning? I can’t wait for the final result.” — Alovera posted on Cari.com.my

“I don't think it’s a conspiracy. It’s more like a strategy to ensure that active voters would send in more votes. The more votes sent, the more money Astro makes.” — Babybueno posted on Cari.com.my

“Astro is treating Akademi Fantasia like a game and not a competition. The students are treated like video game characters.” — defeduck posted on cari.com.my

l On the alleged conspiracy by Astro against popular contestant Asmawi Ani (Mawi)

“Based on how Mawi has been leading the pack since day one, it’s pretty obvious who’s going to be the winner. To spice things up and to ensure that it’s going to be a fair competition, hence the conspiracy.” — SyD posted on cari.com.my.

Apart from the ‘conspiracy’, we also came across some other interesting discussions related to Akademi Fantasia 3 contestants, instructors, critics during the weekly concerts and the overall flow of the programme. Below are some interesting observations. For details, visit Cari.com.my.

“Astro has decided on the final four beforehand.”

“Why Kudsia Kahar (the permanent critic for Akademi Fantasia 3 weekly concert) was never critical of the contestants.”

“Is M. Nasir taking advantage of Mawi’s popularity?”

“What are the inappropriate things that host Aznil Nawawi did and said that might have offended people?”

“Will there be a bloodbath at Akademi Fantasia 3 final concert?”

“Watch out! Mawi FC and Felix FC set to battle it out”

“Poll: Who’s stupider? Mawi fans or Felix fans?”

“Is it necessary for Marlia Musa (one of the instructors) to hug male students?”



http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Thursday/National/20050804113048/Article/index_html

AKADEMI FANTASIA CONTROVERSY ON REAL-TIME VOTING RESULTS: We wanted to heighten suspense, says Astro
By JOE LEE
KUALA LUMPUR , August 4:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We will not respond to speculations or allegations!”
That’s Astro’s response to its announcement that real-time voting results of the final four contestants in Akademi Fantasia would no longer be revealed until the final show.


Followers of the popular reality TV talent search programme are upset. Astro, however, believes that it has made the right decision.

“There is no part of the voting process that is not transparent,” stressed Astro programme director Zainir Aminullah to The Malay Mail.

He said the station’s decision was to heighten suspense at the finale.

“The rationale is simply to make it more fun and intriguing for participants of the finals as well as viewers. No one will know their standing before the results are officially announced.”

After the announcement of the move by Akademi Fantasia host Aznil Nawawi during the post-concert programme, Imbasan Akademi Fantasia on Saturday, fans lashed out at the show. Their claims range from allegations of the wildest of conspiracy theories to accusations of Astro attempting to make more profits by inducing panic among fans to spend more by not allowing them access to the vote standings.

The four final contestants are Amylea, Mawi, Marsha and Felix.

Meanwhile, Zainir insisted the new addition of the Anugerah Vokal Terbaik would be awarded based on a result of a public poll, in the spirit of Akademi Fantasia.

This, despite many disputing that the award should be called ‘most popular vocal’, since it was a result of a public poll, and not best vocals as a professional jury did not have a say.

“For Akademi Fantasia, the viewers, the fans are the best in deciding what they want, so we stand by the public polling.”

On the venue of the final at the weekly home for Akademi Fantasia 3 in Stadium Malawati, Zainir said the location of the stage for the final had been set, “a long time ago”.

He shrugged off complaints over the sold-out status of tickets, and claims that the seating capacity was insufficient compared to the finals last year which were held at Stadium Putra in Bukit Jalil.

Tickets were snapped up within three hours, leaving many disappointed.

“It was a question of planning and logistics. Besides, it’s not too small. The stadium offers a 6,000 seating capacity for the final, and we think that’s big enough.”

http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Thursday/National/20050804112848/Article/index_html