In recent years, the use of social media has been gaining popularity and there are many influential personalities who have caught the attention of many an ardent fan on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They are young and talented in their own way having a huge number of followers who religiously follow their updates on social media. Here, Top 10 of Malaysia shares the first part of its list of influencers (arranged in random order) who have access to a large enthusiastic and engaged audience who pay close attention to their lifestyles and views on a wide variety of interesting subjects.
Elfira Loy
Nurul Elfira Loy is a renowned actress and a serial entrepreneur based in Malaysia. Having started her acting career at the tender age of 12, Elfira has played significant roles in more than 50 movies, dramas, tele-movies, and theatres, both on the local and international stage in addition to appearing and hosting various TV shows and brand commercials. Elfira has had multiple collaborations and worked alongside numerous prestigious brands such as Dior, Omega, Rejoice, Turkish Airlines, Air Asia, and Western Australia Tourism, to name a few. She has also founded her own merchandising and accessories business called “Twinkle by Elfira”, her clothing line called “El by Elfira Loy”, and her very own fusion café called “LoveMeSevenDays Café”.
Dior Yaw
What first started out as a casual hobby sharing about lifestyle, fashion and beauty tips, soon turned into a lifelong passion for Dior Yaw. In 2017, she came out of her comfort zone and ventured into entrepreneurship, where Yaw started her beauty line “Soak in Soul”. The journey was not smooth sailing, yet her goal to help bring out the very best of every girl pushed her to overcome every hurdle. A year ago, she was blessed with her firstborn. While juggling between work and being a new mum is tough, however, it pushes her to work harder as success is never presented on a silver platter.
Josephine Yap
Josephine Yap is a 24-year-old lifestyle, travel and beauty creator. She started her own food programme, #WithTheLocals where she tries varieties of food ranging from cheap street food to expensive dining in restaurants, all of which were recommended by her viewers. Besides being passionate about fashion, beauty, and health, Yap is also environmentally conscious. In addition, she started her own clothing brand in August 2019. Yap has collaborated with many big and notable brands among which are such Samsung, Singapore Airlines, YSL Beauty, Georgia Armani and Coach.
Nana Al-Haleq
A certified coach with credentials from Australian Strength Performance, Nana Al-Haleq is a highly motivated individual who is constantly striving to be the best at what she does. She is the most recognised female fitness influencer in Malaysia with the most followers on Instagram and she creates products to help men and women achieve their health goals. In a span of 2 years, she has reinvented herself from an influencer to a TV host. She has hosted popular television shows on NTV7, ASTRO and RTM, namely the FeelGood Show, Fitness Battle, Jom Kurus, Kami Geng FIT, and A-Z Aktif. Nana is also an official brand ambassador athlete with Under Armour and Apple. Now a household name, Nana is also a businesswoman and the brains behind BODYLAB.
Noor Ayu Fatini
Noor Ayu Fatini, or better known as Bunga, is a 19-year-old girl who has her own trade mark – the only female rapper wearing hijab and baju kurung during live performances. She joined the rap scene in late 2018 when she posted her 16 Baris Rap video on Instagram, which she wrote herself. In November 2018, Bunga joined ‘You Try Rap Please’, a rap battle event and got selected to perform a rap battle for the first time. From there, Bunga joined ‘Hear Me Out’ – a platform that is devoted to Malaysian independent hip-hop scene where she got the chance to exhibit her rap skill through live performances. She became a bigger hit when she performed on the second season of 16 Baris, which gained over a million views in just 3 days and was the talk of the town. Bunga released her debut single in July 2019. She released her self-titled single called Bunga in July in 2019 and was the most recently featured in Aizat Amdan’s latest single, Dup Dup.
Azfar Heri
Born Muhammad Azfar Bin Herisyam, more fondly known to many as Azfar Heri, is a 22-year-old who shot to fame when his cooking show went viral on social media. The oldest of four siblings is currently studying Bachelor in Multimedia Design at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). Mixing comedy into his shows, his Youtube channel, named “Azfar Heri” has garnered over 100,000 subscribers and he has even received a Youtube Silver Play Button as a recognition for his achievement. Now, Azfar is aiming for one million subscribers for his channel. He has also collaborated with brands such as Lazada, Family Mart, Maggi, Grab, Nestle, and many more.
Julene Khor
Julene Khor is a social media influencer who has gained fame for her self-titled Instagram account. She has earned popularity for her casual fashion modeling often coupled with lifestyle and adventure photos. Hailing from Penang, Khor has worked with many brands such as Innisfree, Laneige, Lancome, L’Occitane, and Biotherm, among many others. She also has her own Youtube channel where she posts videos of her day-to-day life.
Ryzal Ibrahim and Maryam You Narae
The Youtube power couple, more fondly known as DurianKimchi, is a social media personality who rose to fame documenting their day-to-day life as a transnational pair. Their quirks and comedic reaction are the highlights of their videos. Ryzal Ibrahim, who hails from Kelantan, worked in South Korea as an international sales representative while Maryam You Narae, previously worked as a physical therapist for 5 years before becoming a product ambassador. Maryam was also nominated in a beauty contests in 2010 whereby only 7 contestants will be selected out of 500. DurianKimchi was founded by Ryzal in May 2018 on Instagram before it was officially known to the public in April 2020. They started their Youtube channel in May 2020 where it has reached 100,000 subscribers in the first month and subsequently received the Youtube Appreciation Award and the Silver Play Button in the following month. The couple has been interviewed by several TV stations and local newspapers, radio stations, and even online media.
Nor Diana
Nor Diana, or Phoenix, is the world’s first hijab-wearing wrestler. Diana made headline last year when she became the first female to win the Malaysia Pro Wrestling (MyPW) Wrestlecon title. The 20-year-old embarked into the world of wrestling when she saw her idol, Sasha Banks in the ring. Her significant presence in the world of wrestling at an international level is also encouraging more hijab-wearing girls in Malaysia to try their luck at the sport. She was also featured in Forbes’ “30 under 30 Asia” list for 2020 in recognition of her contribution to the sport. Diana was also featured in some local daily as well as in internationally renowned portals.
Nizam Rahman
Born Hairul Nizam bin Abdul Rahman, the social media influencer is well known for making parody videos while dressing up as a girl. He shot to fame in a parody where he mimicked Dayang Nurfaizah, who at the time went viral after she won the Anugerah Juara Lagu (AJL). With a knack for acting, he was headhunted by a local filmmaker where he starred in several dramas, namely Ahli Mesyuarat Tingkap, Kias Ramadan and Tanah Kubur. Nizam was also listed among the Top 5 in Personaliti Media Sosial in Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian (ABPBH) 2017 alongside Vivy Yusof, Mat Lufhti, Luqman Padolski and MakhlokMacho.
