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Munah Bagharib

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Munah Bagharib is a Singaporean host and actress. She came to be known as one half of Munah Hirzi, a Singaporean duo who rose to fame on YouTube. In early 2018, the duo announced their retirement from the YouTube scene. Since then, Munah has pursued an acting career on Singapore television as well as in theatre productions. As of November 2019, her Instagram profile (Instagram) has more than 78,000 followers.

Maimunah Bagharib
Munah Bagharib.jpg
Born29 November 1987
EducationTemasek Secondary School, Temasek Polytechnic
Alma materNational University of Singapore
Known forActress, Host, Munah Hirzi Official

Personal life

Munah Bagharib is of Arab descent. She was born on 29 November 1987, which also happens to be her mother's birthday.[1]

Education

Munah went to Temasek Secondary School where she advanced to Secondary 5 and topped her cohort for the 'N' and 'O'-level examinations. She furthered her studies at Temasek Polytechnic where she was on the Dean's List and graduated with a diploma in Communications and Media Management.[2]


At the university level, Munah was offered a scholarship to National Technological University (NTU). However, she opted to enter National University Singapore where she graduated with a double degree in Communications and Theatre Studies. In a 2013 interview with Today, Munah voiced her interest to pursue a Masters degree.[3]

Background

Munah Hirzi Official (2009 - 2018)

 
Munah (left) and Hirzi (right) in character during one of their early YouTube videos.

Munah and Hirzi met each other while pursuing Communications and Media Management diplomas at Temasek Polytechnic.[4] The first series of videos uploaded onto their YouTube channel MunahHirziOfficial (YouTube channel) titled '10 Dares' was inspired by the French movie Love Me If You Dare. The movie revolved around a couple who consistently dared each other, which spurred the duo to film videos of themselves doing ridiculous things that they had already been doing offline. Initially, the series was just meant to be shared between their circle of friends. However, they had unintentionally managed to garner a much wider audience. Soon, they were uploading videos regularly and growing a fanbase online.[5]


Some of their most popular uploads include ‘Single Ladies Parody (Asian Beyonce)’ (YouTube video) with over 700,000 views and ‘MINAHCONDA (Anaconda Parody Singapore)’ (YouTube video) with over 900,000 views. Their parodies of well-known songs feature lyrics that are relatable to Singaporeans and Singapore culture.[6]

Munah & Hirzi: Action! (2012)

Munah Hirzi had their own television show on Singapore’s Malay-language channel, Suria. The drama series was roughly based on their actual journey in the entertainment scene and featured the duo experiencing different things like going on radio and followed their lives as they grew in popularity. The show lasted for one season.[7]

Happy Ever Laughter (2012)

In 2012, Munah and Hirzi performed at Singapore's Esplanade Theatre alongside veterans of the local entertainment scene like Gurmit Singh, Michelle Chong and Kumar. Inspired by comedy nights overseas, 'Happy Ever Laughter' is an annual comedy show that features Singapore’s top comedians.[8] Munah and Hirzi performed in the very first iteration of the show in 2012.

Munah & Hirzi Live: Curtain Call (2018)

 
Promotional poster for Munah & Hirzi Live: Curtain Call (2018) at Capitol Theatre.

Munah and Hirzi commemorated their plans to go their separate ways with their very own show at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre. The show was their final farewell as a pair to their fans. It featured notable characters from their YouTube channel such SyaSya the minah and Syah the policeman, on top of special appearances from dance crew The Limited Edition Crew and other YouTube personalities such as Dee Kosh and Preetipls.[9] In a 2018 interview with CLEO Singapore, the duo explained that they separated to explore themselves as individual artists.[10]

Career highlights

 
Munah (third from right) in Celebrity Car Wars Season 3, a TV show aired on the History Channel.

Since her retirement from YouTube in 2018, Munah has been involved in the local theatre scene. She has also been cast for the television series Celebrity Car Wars Season 3.

Acting (Television & Theatre)

Year Title of Play/Show Character Company Refs.
2019 Girl Band Called Girl Band Debbie Clicknetwork.tv [11]
2018 Potong Dr Dini Teater Ekamatra [12][13]
2018 Bulan Madu Suhaila Teater Ekamatra [14]
2016 White Rabbit Red Rabbit - M1 Singapore Fringe Festival [15]
2015 Working Class Junnie Mediacorp Channel 5 [16]
2013 Kakak Kau Punya Laki (Your Sister’s Husband) - Teater Ekamatra [17]

Hosting (Television & Events)

Year Television show Role Channel Refs.
2018 Celebrity Car Wars Season 3 One of the contenders HISTORY Channel [18]
2016 20th Asian Television Award Show Co-Host - [19]
2016 #MissAdventures Co-Host OKTO
2014 FOX SPORTS Presenter FOX SPORTS Malaysia [20]

Social causes

Birthday fundraiser (2018)

In 2018, Munah started a fundraising campaign through GIVE Asia to support non-profit organization 'Happy People, Happy People'’s monthly Happy Sundays. She started this campaign to commemorate her 30th birthday. She had also joined Youth Corps Singapore as a volunteer in 2018.[21]

Ambassador for Pink Dot (2015)

Munah was an ambassador for Pink Dot 2015 alongside Hirzi. They were the first Muslim ambassadors for Pink Dot Singapore.[22] Pink Dot is a local not-for-profit movement started in support of the LGBT community. The duo had organized a meet-and-greet with fans at Pink Dot SG 2014 and decided to connect with more people by being ambassadors the following year.[23]

NIVEA whitening advertisement (2015)

In 2015, Munah appeared in German body-care brand NIVEA’s advertisement for their underarm whitening deodorant product. However, the 3-minute long video sparked negative sentiments among netizens as many felt that it promoted self-doubt among women with darker underarms. In response to this, NIVEA took down the video.[24]

Munah's response

Munah had also expressed her opinion regarding the incident, saying that she believes there are different perspectives to the same situation and that the video, which was filmed to be humorous, could have been received differently by the audience. Additionally, she defended herself citing that she did not have creative control over the video and was only hired as an actress.[25]

References / Citations

  1. ↑ Wan, June. "Meet My Mum! : Munah". Singapore Motherhood. May 8, 2014. Accessed on 19 November 2019.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Eliza. "Talking - and talking - with Munah & Hirzi". Today. November 23, 2013. Accessed on 19 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Eliza. "Talking - and talking - with Munah & Hirzi". Today. November 23, 2013. Accessed on 19 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Yip, Wai Yee. “YouTube comedic duo Munah Bagharib, Hirzi Zulkiflie end their run with show at Capitol Theatre”. The Straits Times. January 8, 2016. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/makcik-and-minah-say-goodbye
  5. ↑ Thomas, Eliza. “Talking - and talking - with Munah & Hirzi”. TodayOnline. November 22, 2013. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from:  https://www.todayonline.com/blogs/poparazzi/talkingandtalking-interview-munah-hirzi
  6. ↑ “MunahHirziOfficial”. SocialBlade. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://socialblade.com/youtube/user/munahhirziofficial
  7. ↑ Kyle Malinda-White. “Munah & Hirzi Are Moving Over To The Television Screen And They’re Ecstatic”. PopSpoken. October 16, 2012. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: http://popspoken.com/arts/2012/10/munah-hirzi-are-moving-over-to-the-television-screen-and-theyre-ecstatic
  8. ↑ Tan, Corrie. “A night of Laughter”. The Straits Times. June 5, 2012. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/1206/PDF/NIGHT-st-5jun-pC2.pdf
  9. ↑ “MUNAH & HIRZI LIVE: CURTAIN CALL”. Peatix.  Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://mho10.peatix.com/
  10. ↑ Hong, Sophie. “‘It’s A Race To See Who Becomes Beyonce” - Munah And Hirzi. CLEO. January 28, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.cleo.com.sg/entertain-me/munah-and-hirzi-beyonce/
  11. ↑ Clicknetwork.tv. "GIRL BAND CALLED GIRL BAND: Episode 4". YouTube. April 21, 2019. Accessed on 13 May 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.clicknetwork.tv/girl-band-called-girl-band-episode-4
  12. ↑ “Potong”. Ekamatra. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://ekamatra.org.sg/seasons#2018/3
  13. ↑ Akanksha Raja. “”Potong” by Teater Ekamatra: Of Kin and Skin”. Arts Equator. April 4, 2018. Accessed on 31 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://artsequator.com/potong-teater-ekamatra-review/
  14. ↑ BAKCHORMEEBOY. “Teater Ekamatra’s Bulan Madu: An Interview with Actors Adib Kosnan and Munah Bagharib”. Bakchormeeboy. October 24, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://bakchormeeboy.com/2018/10/24/teater-ekamatras-bulan-madu-an-interview-with-actors-adib-kosnan-and-munah-bagharib/
  15. ↑ Akshita Nanda. “White Rabbit Red Rabbit tantalises without satisfying”. The Straits Times. January 14, 2016. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/white-rabbit-red-rabbit-tantalises-without-satisfying
  16. ↑ Toggle Video. "Working Class Ep 2 Social Influencer". October 22, 2015. Accessed on 19 November 2019.
  17. ↑ “Twisted Sister”. The Inkpot. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://inkpotreviews.com/2013reviews/1219,kaka,ny.xml
  18. ↑ “Celebrity Car Wars Is Back With Season 3”. Nylon Singapore. September 19, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.nylon.com.sg/2018/09/celebrity-car-wars-is-back-with-season-3/
  19. ↑ Chen, James. “Max Loong on his next TV projects”. Asian Television Awards. April 5, 2016. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.asiantvawards.com/2016/04/max-loong-on-his-next-tv-projects/
  20. ↑ “Fox-Out Fashion Feature: Munah Bagharib”. Charles Benedict Ng. September 13, 2014. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://charlesbenedictdotcom1.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/fox-out-fashion-feature-munah-bagharib/
  21. ↑ Bagharib, Munah. "Last year, I joined @youthcorpssg volunteers...". Instagram. 2 March, 2019. Accessed on 27 March 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BugQG2WF9u4/
  22. ↑ HIRZI. “HIRZI LIVE AT PINK DOT 2017 (THE QUEENS MEDLEY)”. Facebook. Accessed on 31 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/hirziofficial/videos/vb.1389267471143531/1579436578793285/?type=2&theater
  23. ↑ “Munah and Hirzi”. Pink Dot SG. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://pinkdot.sg/ambassador/munah-and-hirzi/
  24. ↑ Hicks, Robin. “Singapore YouTuber Munah: I had no creative control over Nivea whitening deodorant video”. Mumbrella Asia. May 24, 2015. Accessed on 31 January 2019.
  25. ↑ Hicks, Robin. “Singapore YouTuber Munah: I had no creative control over Nivea whitening deodorant video”. Mumbrella Asia. May 24, 2015. Accessed on 31 January 2019.
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