Wife: Nasyid singer missing

NASYID singer Akhil Hayy has not come home since media reports surfaced that he was “close” to fellow artiste Waheeda, his wife claimed.

Harian Metro reported his wife Maizawati Zainal as saying that she had heard gossip about her husband and Waheeda, which was reported widely in the media, but chose to ignore them.

However, her patience wore thin after Akhil did not return home and had refused to say where he was. Maizawati said it was then that she decided to file for divorce and build a new life.

Attempts by the tabloid to contact both Akhil and Waheeda for comments were unsuccessful. Waheeda had earlier repeatedly denied gossip linking her to Akhil, saying that they were merely good friends.

Utusan Malaysia reported veteran actor-director Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin as accusing the sensational reports in gossip columns and television shows for the reason behind the divorces among local entertainers.

He said the divorces occurred after the reports were published, many of which were about married actors having affairs with other women.

Jins, who has called for the banning on the publication of such gossip, noted that even a local television show had taken to airing details about the personal life of local entertainers, including their divorces.

In response, Malaysian Artistes Association (Karyawan) president Freddie Fernandez said he had not received any complaint from members that their marriages broke up due to gossip reports.

“Maybe the journalists have heard about the impending divorce from their sources,” he said.

However, Malaysian Singers, Musicians and Songwriters Association (Papita) president Datuk M. Daud Wahid agreed with Jins’ suggestion for gossip columns to be dropped from newspapers and television programmes.

“There’s no need to air such gossip, which will bring problems,” he added.

National Union of Journalists president Norila Daud said gossip columns were written based on factual events, which had been passed on by reliable witnesses to the media.

“Gossip is not slander. The artistes named in the gossip reports are asked to tell their side of the story because they have fans, who want to know their developments,” she added.