Azwan Ali (actor)

Mohamed Azwan bin Ali ( Jawi: محمد ازوان بن علي; born 13 February 1966), also known by his nickname as Diva AA, is a Malaysian television host and actor.

Early life and career

He was born in Kandang Kerbau Hospital, Singapore. He and his entire family were originally Singaporean citizens but his parents eventually chose to become Malaysian citizens after the separation of Singapore and Malaysia in 1965. His family chose to live in Kampung Klang Gate Baru, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur and that is where Azwan Ali grew up. Azwan obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Malaya in 1991, and before that also obtained a diploma certificate from Universiti Teknologi MARA. His father Ustaz Haji Ali Omar is from Jurong, Singapore and his mother Hajah Che Tom Yahaya is from Changi, Singapore and now lives in Kampung Klang Gate, Taman Melawati, Ulu Kelang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Azwan Ali once acted in the film Aku No. 1 directed by Datuk Haji Aznil Nawawi and won the 1999 Best Asian Television Award for the "Best Talk Show" category through his program '' Cit Cat Azwan'' which aired for 12 years on Astro Ria. Azwan is also a drama and sitcom director and is famous for the telefilms ''Lontong'' (1995) and ''Sambal'' (1996). He is famous for the phrase ''See My Level World Class''. Apart from that, Azwan Ali is also famous for his pet name AA or Baby AA.

Azwan was born on 13 February 1966 at Kandang Kerbau Hospital, Singapore. His father was a religious teacher and clerk named Haji Ali Omar from Jurong, Singapore (1927-1999) and his mother was a housewife named Hajah Che Tom Yahaya from Changi, Singapore (1935-2017) was a housewife. One of Azwan's older brothers is a prominent Malaysian politician, Dato' Seri Azmin Ali. Azwan later grew up in Kampung Klang Gates, Melawati and attended Setapak High School after his parents chose to become Malaysian citizens. In 1985, Azwan continued his studies in public administration at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Dungun branch, Terengganu. After that, he obtained a degree in law from University of Malaya in 1989.

With TV3 (Music, Song Champion Award, Screen Award, Melody)

Azwan's career as a television host began when he joined TV3 on 13 March 1988 after undergoing an audition suggested by host Wan Zaleha Radzi. Wan Zaleha noticed Azwan's talent after attending a program with University of Malaya students organized by Azwan. Azwan was assigned as the host of the popular song request program, ''Sampaikan''. His talent was nurtured to become a host at the early age of 22. Azwan had the opportunity to try his talent as an actor when he starred in the television drama titled ''Naik Tangga Turun Tangga'' in 1989 and after that the film '' Harry Boy'' (1991). Azwan was also invited to duet with singer Wann in the song ''Nilai Cinta''.

In 1989, Azwan took over as the host of the popular weekly entertainment program Muzik Muzik with his partner Charmaine Agustine. Through that show, Azwan made a name for himself and made the program and the annual Anugerah Juara Lagu event to the peak of popularity throughout Malaysia. At TV3, Azwan also served as a producer and was an important person in shaping the content of popular TV shows such as Melodi, Skrin, Teleskop, Mikroskop, In-Person and many more. While with TV3, he pioneered a new style of hosting and became a reference for many new hosts after that. Azwan is known for his efficiency and wisdom in hosting entertainment programs. In 1994, he won the award for Best TV Personality at the first Anugerah Skrin.

After that, Azwan was able to continue his acting talent in the drama ''Perang Mertua'' with actress Nor Aliah Lee in 1995. Azwan also directed many comedy dramas with parody elements for TV3 broadcasts. Among the most memorable are the serial drama ''Sambal'' (1994-1996) and the raya drama ''Lontong'' (1996). Azwan hosted the gossip show Melodi for several years when Seniwati Fauziah Ahmad Daud was assigned as the host. At that time, various innovations were introduced by Azwan to attract many viewers to watch the program. Azwan also hosted the show

forum talk show Teleskop and later rebranded as Mikroskop due to controversy involving statements made by the artists involved. Azwan was with TV3 for 10 years before deciding to leave a permanent career as a TV3 personality in 1997.

In 1997, Azwan starred in the box office film Puteri Impian by playing the character of himself. In the film, the character of a factory girl played by Amy Mastura was depicted as very interested in Azwan and Azwan's television programs.

With Astro (Cit Cat Azwan)

After leaving TV3, Azwan established Azwan Ali Production. Shortly after, he was approached by Astro, which was still in operation at the time, to produce his own. Azwan started with the program Action! in 1997, but the program was canceled and recommended to be replaced by a talk program hosted by Azwan himself. In July 1998, the Cit Cat Azwan program began airing on the Astro channel. Azwan's casual talk show interviewing local and regional artists received much attention and praise from television viewers. In 1999, Azwan won the Best Talk Show award at the 8th Asian Television Awards in Singapore.

Azwan's Cit Cat show aired for 12 years and was well-known for its catchphrase "Amboi, Amboi, Amboi".

Along with that, Azwan also managed to gather dozens of artists every year to celebrate the Cit Cat Azwan Party held at leading resorts nationwide. This program was organized from 1999 to 2007 where many of the artists involved were also given awards at a special awards night. After his contract at Astro was terminated and the end of Cit Cat Azwan's show, he returned to TV3 for the talk show Jangan Tidur Lagi paired with celebrity Adlin Aman Ramli. Azwan's relationship with this program did not last long as it only aired for 2 seasons before being replaced by another host.

Became Diva AA

After that, Azwan was somewhat fluctuating in her artistic career when she was no longer the main choice of television stations. However, every time she appeared on TV, especially after introducing the characters Baby AA (for the program Propaganza) and Diva AA, she definitely left an impact and became a topic of public conversation until she was known as a Controversial Artist.

In 2013, Azwan participated in the cooking reality program ''Masterchef Celebrity Malaysia'' and a year later ''Masterchef Celebrity All Stars''. In 2015, she joined the ranks of young artists in the Running Man-like program, namely Lari, broadcast on TV9. Azwan's appearance in the program was loved by many because of his funny and honest actions. After that, Azwan also appeared in the program ''Aku Yang Masak Kau Yang Panas'' broadcast by Astro.

Political Scene

Since 2016, Azwan has not been active on TV and only appears occasionally either as a guest or as an invited judge. In 2018, Azwan contested the 14th General Election in the Bukit Antarabangsa State Assembly as an independent candidate against his brother, Azmin. Despite losing, Azwan's story went viral in the mass media. Azwan's involvement in the political scene somewhat drowned out his artistic career. In 2019, Azwan then announced that he would move to London, United Kingdom but returned to Malaysia shortly before the implementation of the Malaysian Movement Control Order 2020-21.

Results of the Bukit Antarabangsa DUN General Election

Comeback 2020

After several years of isolation and involvement in the national political scene, Azwan returned to TV3 through the second season of the program '' Lagu Cinta Kita'' together with Elly Mazlein. This program received widespread praise and was watched by over 3 million viewers each week, while also reviving the name of Azwan, who was missed by viewers.

Filmography

Television Shows / Streams

Awards ceremony (as host)

Movies

Telefilm

Drama

As a reality TV contestant

Radio & Siniar

Television Appearance / Stream

Advertisement

Discography

Recording

Single/Vocal

Song Creation/Ideas

Music Videos

Appearance In Music Videos

Music Video Direction

Awards and nominations

Pop culture

Azwan Ali was one of the earliest television hosts to be promoted as TV personalities. This is because of his popularity across various races and his consistent appearance on television for entertainment and comedy programs.

Taglines

Throughout his celebrity status, Azwan used many taglines and quotes which later became popular with the general public.

When the Movement Control Order began on March 18, 2020, Azwan used his social media to raise awareness among the public to stay at home. A video warning the public via his Instagram page then went viral and was followed by netizens.

Alter ego

Azwan is also known for his unique character in the entertainment world. Since 2011, he has branded himself with the character Baby AA, a pink-haired street gossip who uses a loudspeaker for the show Propaganza. However, this character has been criticized by many.

After that, she named herself Diva AA in 2014, often carrying a monopod to take selfies with fans with the hashtag #SelfieWithDivaAA. However, Azwan's original image as Azwan Ali was positively received and welcomed by netizens.

Parody

Throughout his career as a celebrity, Azwan's personality has been used as a joke in local entertainment programs and films several times. Here are some parodies involving his character, not including dramas/films featuring Azwan as himself.

Common collaborations

Azwan Ali is known as a celebrity who has worked with almost all the artists who were active in the 1990s and 2000s through his programs. There are several celebrities who have frequently collaborated with him throughout his involvement since 1988.

Issue

1990s

At the beginning of Azwan's appearance, he was not a controversial artist, although his status at that time was the most popular television host since the legendary host Taufik Latif. The first gossip involving Azwan was about his relationship with the beautiful singer Fauziah Latiff, which the singer revealed that they were just friends in 1991. In 1992, Utusan Melayu journalist Saodah Ismail wrote her comments on Azwan's character which was described as "Syok Sendiri", "Over", and "Gila Glamor". Azwan was also heavily criticized by the audience when he jokingly made the statement "Malayu belacan" in the Muzik Muzik program in 1994, while Azwan was once accused of being bouncy when it was said that he would leave the Muzik Muzik and Mikroskop programs.

In 1995, singer Ziana Zain once issued a statement on Media Hiburan that read "Azwan Ali is not my taste" meaning Azwan was not the man she dreamed of. This statement hurt Azwan's heart after he tried several times to woo the famous singer. After that, Azwan refused to be associated with the outspoken singer. One of Azwan's talk shows, "''Teleskop''", once shocked the country when guest artists who gave opinions were seen as too open and did not take into account the sensitivities of the audience, eventually this program was canceled due to public outcry.

Azwan revealed that one of the reasons he resigned as a host and producer at TV3 was because of his decision to let Siti Nurhaliza (a new artist at the time) compete in the Semi-Final of Muzik Muzik 11 stage even though the singer was unable to attend the training and rehearsal stage due to her SPM examination. Azwan revealed that he gave 24 hours' notice after the end of the 11th Song Award by the new year 1997 after serving for 10 years at the number 1 station at the time. After leaving TV3, Azwan did not look back and continued to launch Azwan Ali Productions. Azwan also had a meeting with the Minister of Information Datuk Mohamed Rahmat after leaving the private station.

During the Reformasi (Malaysia) in 1997–1998, Azwan was seen accompanying his sister Ummi Hafilda Ali who was involved as the main witness in the case of alleged abuse of power by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The Cit Cat Azwan show began airing in 1998, at which time famous singer Ziana Zain had just gotten married. Azwan Ali, who was once linked to Ziana, has filed a defamation suit against the producer of the show Melodi, Michael Christian Simon, along with the TV3 station and the pair of hosts, Fauziah Ahmad Daud and Saiful Apek, for citing his name as "slanderous because Ziana got married". The suit was dismissed by the court, and on 25 October 2000, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered Azwan to pay costs of RM29,156.20 to Fauziah Ahmad Daud and RM49,650.00 to TV3 in relation to his failure in the suit for defamation.

2000s

Azwan's sister, Ummi Hafilda, once filed a lawsuit against the tabloid newspaper Bacaria for allegedly defaming Ummi and Khairuddin Abu Hassan as being married, thus affecting her chances of getting married. The publication claimed that they got information from internet channels and Azwan himself. In 2000, Chef Wan caused controversy when he dressed like a woman while hosting the ''Cit Cat Azwan 2000 Party'' in Johor Bahru, while famous producer Julie Dahlan, once shocked the press when his appearance in Cit Cat Azwan was described as being too open when talking about personal questions. Following the dispute between Azwan and several celebrities, the host was nicknamed Kaki Gaduh. Among the artists who had a bad relationship with Azwan at that time were Jaafar Onn, Aznil Nawawi, and Chef Wan. In 2004, Azwan filed a police report to ensure Aznil Nawawi stopped interfering with his personal affairs.

In 2002, the telefilm ''New Boyz The Movie'' directed by Azwan was banned by the Film Censorship Board (LPF) which did not allow the appearance of female characters played by men. In the comedy telefilm, the character of a female student named Siti Payung was played by Farouk Hussain. Because Siti Payung is one of the important supporting characters, the producer's attempt to re-edit the telefilm by removing the character of Siti Payung failed and caused the New Boyz The Telemovie VCD to not be marketed. When hosting the final stage of the ''Rentak Juara'' competition in 2004, Azwan once mistakenly announced the winner's decision until the issue exploded in the mass media even though Azwan corrected the situation during the live broadcast and apologized.

Cit Cat Azwan was broadcast exclusively in 2006 during the live broadcast of singer Siti Nurhaliza's wedding. The episode titled ''"Cit Cat Diana Kulai! Diana Mawilah!"'' was broadcast in two episodes and aired simultaneously with Siti's wedding as a strategy for a ratings war between Astro/RTM and TV3 stations. After the special Cit Cat program, Astro and RTM also aired the program "Mawi...Ina" hosted by Rosyam Nor. Continuing from the Mawi issue, the popular singer also caused controversy when he turned down an invitation to appear on Azwan's Cit Cat program. According to Mawi, he had a tight schedule and was also afraid of the concept of the talk show.

The organization of Mesra Sokmo Cit Cat Azwan 2007 became the peak of controversy when Azwan claimed to be unaware of the plan to sell tables on the night of the Mesra Sokmo PCC7 Gala which had been made by the event management company and the Terengganu state government without the knowledge of Azwan Ali Productions and the artists involved in the performance. This caused several artists such as M. Nasir, Adibah Noor, Ning Baizura and Hattan to not want to perform because they felt used. Unlike the previous PCC which was entirely managed by Azwan Productions, MSCCA 2007 was jointly organised by the state government and the appointed event management company, which caused the tentative programme to be in chaos and left many artists and media friends dissatisfied, and the state government and Azwan even clashed with each other in statements to the press. Not only that, the name of this program needs to be changed from 'Parti' to 'Mesra' because the word party is considered not suitable for the state of Terengganu. The issue at MSCCA 2007 caused Azwan's relationship with several media outlets to become murky, to the point that he was banned for several years.

The controversy between Azwan and dangdut singer Ifa Raziah has never subsided since they were friends for so long. The most controversial episode was when Ifa described Azwan as forgetful while in Genting Highlands to attend the 2007 Berita Harian Popular Star Awards, as a result Ifa announced that she had broken up with the host. Azwan's car was stolen in 2008. In 2009, Azwan's official blog was said to have received a warning from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission due to its digital content containing excessive gossip.

2010s

After hosting the comedy program ''"Tiada Lama Tiada Baharu"'' with comedian Didie Alias since 2010, Azwan was dropped from hosting the second season after it was alleged that the drop was made by certain parties. Shortly after, Azwan criticized Didie and Enot's hosting style by describing the two comedians' actions in hosting the comedy program as chimpanzees. As a result, Azwan and Didie exchanged statements on Twitter until they finally reconciled in 2017.

Azwan had once made death threats against his sister Ummie Hafilda via Twitter. On 13 January 2012, Ummi filed a police report at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail Police Station. Petaling Jaya Police Chief, Arjunaidi Mohammad classified the case under Section 506 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Finally, Azwan Ali and Ummi Hafilda reconciled.

Azwan slammed the credibility of the judges of the reality program MasterChef Selebriti Malaysia due to the lack of transparency in the judging after he was eliminated from the program. During Ramadan 2014, Azwan was heavily criticized by netizens and Ramadan bazaar vendors for criticizing the quality of some of the breaking-of-the-fast food sold by bazaar vendors, which he described as 'tasting like garbage'. When the country held a National Day of Mourning, actor Sharnaaz Ahmad criticized Azwan's action of taking a selfie while Malaysians were mourning the return of the remains of this citizen who died in the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH17 plane tragedy. Azwan, who attended the public meeting at Dataran Merdeka, said he did not take a selfie during the meditation ceremony, but rather before, and that his purpose in uploading the photo was to share his grief. Because of this issue, Azwan and Sharnaaz exchanged tweets on Twitter defending their respective actions, until the Malaysian Employees Association intervened.

In 2015, Azwan had a dispute with his Twitter followers because the fan wrote the word 'menate' which he thought was mixed with obscene words towards him, which was actually the name of a restaurant. Azwan finally apologized to Menate Restaurant after the dispute episode lasted so long that it involved the restaurant's good name. The provocation between netizens, Azwan, fans and the restaurant led to the issue of insulting the Malay race, which attracted the attention of the Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Dr Harussani Zakaria, who reprimanded Azwan for swearing on social media, as well as receiving a warning from the President of the Malaysian Association of Dignity and Friendship (MJMM), Abdul Rani Kulup, who wanted to file a police report. Actor and artist Azhar Sulaiman also reprimanded Azwan as a friend but was reprimanded by the celebrity. Shortly after, Azwan was once again faced with legal action by Tirana Products Sdn Bhd, a soy sauce manufacturing company which claimed that Azwan had issued defamatory statements and videos against the company's products.

On 18 February 2017, Azwan's mother, Che Tom Yahaya, has breathed her last but Azwan was not seen attending the funeral and taking the body to the cemetery. Azwan refused to reveal the cause of the dispute between his family and said that only his siblings knew his story. Azwan once uploaded a video and several pictures with captions on his Instagram account criticizing the actions of a drama producer Sheila Rusly who was said to produce a drama that was like garbage when watching the drama "'' Misteri Wan Peah''" to the point that Sheila and her husband responded to the criticism while inviting the actors in the drama to also criticize Azwan; because of this controversy, the sign saying "Are you not in school? Are you a SRP graduate?" went viral. The Azwan-Sheila feud ended in 2019 when the two forgave each other.

During the 2018 Malaysian general election, Azwan contested as an Independent candidate (using the Elephant symbol) in the Bukit Antarabangsa State Legislative Assembly to oppose his brother who is also PKR Deputy President, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. The decision to contest was made following the support of many parties, especially his loyal fans in ensuring that the struggle to bring down Mohamed Azmin, became a reality. Although his election campaign went viral, Azwan only received 90 votes and lost his betting money.

In 2019, Azwan made a public apology to his fellow artist and brother Azmin before announcing that he would be moving to the United Kingdom. Azwan lived there until he had to return due to personal matters and was finally forced to settle back in Malaysia due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020s

As a result of a misunderstanding during a food party organized by Dato Seri Vida and his daughter Cik B, Azwan cursed the family with hurtful words. After being threatened with a lawsuit, Azwan finally apologized. During the Malaysian Movement Control Order 2020-21, Azwan's behavior of scolding people who disobeyed the Movement Control Order, which went viral since yesterday, became a topic of attention after some people edited the audio and produced another video clip that went viral. However, Azwan was fined RM17,000 by the Putrajaya Sessions Court, after pleading guilty to uploading a video insulting Putrajaya Hospital staff in handling the COVID-19 outbreak on 24 March 2020. He was also criticized for condemning Siti Nurhaliza's action of leaving early after making a special appearance with Bob Yusof who replaced her on stage, as well as questioning singer Naim Daniel's victory at the 34th Juara Lagu Awards which he described as not being famous. After that, Azwan once questioned the victory of singer Chubb-E for the same reason at the 33rd Daily News Popular Star Awards. Both young singers responded politely to Azwan's harsh comments and even admitted that Azwan was their idol in the art industry.https://www.mstar.com.my/spotlight/sensasi/2020/11/18/disamakan-dengan-tukang-cuci-chubb-e-tak-terasa-hati-dengan-diva-aa-----kenapa-saya-nak-kena-peduli-apa-orang-kata

References

External links

{{Portal bar, Malaysia, Biography, Film, Television, Politics

1966 births
Living people
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian Muslims
Male actors from Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian television personalities
Independent politicians in Malaysia
Malaysian actor-politicians
University of Malaya alumni
21st-century Malaysian actors