Sheila Majid gets praise from pop star Aishah

The singer who is now a member of Amanah says artistes are being punished for speaking up.

SHAH ALAM: Former pop queen Aishah today defended fellow singer Sheila Majid over her Twitter comments on the rising cost of living.

Speaking at the Pakatan Harapan convention here, Aishah, who is a member of Amanah, said she was disappointed that artistes were being punished for speaking up on their political beliefs, “what more a comment as innocent as Sheila’s”.

Aishah said it was wrong for Sheila to be condemned over her remarks on the country’s economy.

“There were those who said that she should just stick to singing. Is that all a singer is supposed to do? Sing 24 hours a day?” asked Aishah.

“Politics is something we all have to come face-to-face with and it affects all of us. So why aren’t we allowed to speak about it?”

Aishah said she was glad that Sheila spoke up “because it shows that the cells in artistes’ brains are still working”.

Sheila last month took to Twitter to voice out on the lack of action to address the rising cost of living and the falling value of the ringgit.

“Food is expensive, ringgit is weak, cost of living is high & jobs are scarce. Msians are becoming tired & angry for being squeezed over debts we did not create.

“Stop making excuses & looking for faults. Focus on the job of getting our country back on track! Disappointing!” she posted on Twitter.

The comment drew strong remarks from Umno leaders, while a majority of social media users supported her.

Aishah, who stood as a PAS candidate in Negeri Sembilan in the 2013 general election before switching camps to Amanah two years later, said due to her own political stand, she might no longer be allowed to appear on TV.

“If you don’t see me on TV any more, it would be because of all that I’m saying now,” she said. -FMT