BRUNEI: AF6 STARS HOSTED TO DINNER, BRING CHEER TO PATRONS

By Lyna Mohamad (Credit to Borneo Bulletin Online)

Customers at SR Restaurant were in for a surprise and a special treat as four stars of the Malaysian reality TV programme 'Akademi Fantasia 6' (AF6) - Nadia, Ika, Aliff and Riz - were hosted to a dinner there by Paradise Telecommunications & Services and the restaurant itself.

On hand to welcome the special customers were the restaurant's owner, Pg Hj Tuah Pg Hj Menudin and, of course, the much delighted customers who just happened to be diehard fans of AF.

Borneo Bulletin had a close encounter with the stars, who were accompanied by their PR Manager Fizie during the dinner. She pointed out that compared to the stars of AF1to AF5, who have had an opportunity to visit the country after the completion of their respective AF seasons, the remaining contestants have never had a chance to visit the Sultanate and meet their Bruneian fans before this.

So the idea came up to bring the stars here and to give them the chance to meet and thank their supportive fans. Gradually, more trips like this will be organised with other AF stars, so each of them will have equal opportunities such as this one.

Nadia and Ika were the most bubbly and very friendly compared to Alif and Riz, who seemed to be a bit more reserved, yet they all seemed to be warm, down-to-earth individuals - all smiles while entertaining their fans and attending to photo ops.

Asked about their stay here, all of them agreed that it has been a wonderful experience as they were able to get a taste of Brunei and got to meet the people, who are warm, friendly and open-minded. One of the most memorable experiences was meeting and greeting fans during their visit to Kg Ayer.

All four were amazed to see beautiful sights of the stilt house on water and got to pass through in and out of these homes, learning about the villages' background and getting familiar with the nightlife of villagers staying on the Brunei River.

Another obvious difference that they noticed was how the media here works compared to those back home and it has been comforting for them to be able to talk with Brunei's media, as the focus was always on their career not on personal matters - the kind of support that artistes need and a sort of cooperation to help raise the music industry.

Riz, who currently has no interest in acting unlike his fellow AF mates, will be occupied promoting his recently released album and partaking in a concert at his hometown.