Malaysian singer Shila Amzah says she was sexually harassed as a teen
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Shila Amzah has opened up about a harrowing incident that took place in her teen years.
PHOTO: UBAI MZ/YOUTUBE
PETALING JAYA – Malaysian singer Shila Amzah has opened up about a traumatic incident that took place in her teen years.
This was revealed by the 34-year-old in a recent episode of Ubai Sentral on Jan 18. The podcast was hosted by her husband, influencer Ubaidillah Zulkefli, 27.
Shila said on the podcast that she was sexually harassed by two strangers while on her way to school.
“I was around 15 or 16 at the time. I’d never taken the bus to school and would only walk,” the Patah Seribu (2013) singer said.
Shila added she would leave the house early in the morning so she could arrive at school before 7am, as she dislikes being late.
But while walking to school one day, two men riding on a motorcycle approached her, and one of them began touching her inappropriately.
She was so paralysed by fear that she could not make any noise, even though she tried to scream.
“When women face sexual harassment, it’s easy for us to tell them to shout for help or so on if we’re not in their shoes,” she said.
“But the moment I found myself in that very situation, I understood what it’s like – wanting to scream but being unable to.”
She said the incident left her feeling horrified, adding: “I was traumatised and speechless after arriving at school.”
Shila made her name in the regional scene after she won the inaugural season of Chinese reality TV singing competition Asian Wave in 2012 and placed third in I Am A Singer, another Chinese singing contest, in 2014. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
