Model behaviour: Alicia Amin on choosing authenticity over popularity

To clarify, challenging the status quo is hard. Speaking up on behalf of those who can’t do so is never easy. After several years of doing this, Alicia has found her own way to manage the unpleasantness while letting her talent speak for itself. 

“When I protested against Andrew for not paying models for Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, there were a lot of comments online saying, ‘That’s so entitled of you.’ Of course, there were people who were on my side, but others were straight up like, ‘This is what you get for working in a ‘haram’ job and showing your body.’”

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Asked whether her no-nonsense stance has worked in her favour over the years, her enthusiastic response is, “Hundred per cent. I was able to pull off the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week thing because of that reputation for speaking out.”

“I called in favours from every news outlet that wrote about me being a liberal ‘Perempuan Melayu sexy,’ and sent them photos and videos of the protest saying, ‘You guys like to write about me, right? Please write about this.’ In a way, it turned the tables and it was advantageous, but from a career standpoint? It depends on the market you’re in,” she says.

She explains that while some brands and groups in Malaysia applaud such upfront behaviour, others prefer not to court controversy and risk alienating audiences in the country.

For Alicia, what matters most is working towards tangible positive change in the creative and entertainment industries to foster local talents, whether that be models, make-up artists, videographers, photographers, writers, or actors.  

While she applauds the many celebrities who have enjoyed successful careers in Malaysia, the general sentiment in the industry is that one has to go overseas to be celebrated far and wide.

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‘Yes, you can make it big here,” she says. “To do so, you have to subscribe to what the fans here want, and for some people, that’s good enough. But then you are limited by the type of content that you can produce and or what would work well here because if you’re going for popularity, it doesn’t always necessarily mean that you get artistic satisfaction. I can speak only for myself and those like me, but I believe that ultimately we all want to get bigger and better and have greater access to do more things, right? The point of growing is also the ability to do more interesting things.” 

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Looking back at the highlights of her career so far, she gratefully recalls opportunities to make a name for herself as an actress with roles in hit shows like Prime Video’s That Cover Girl and The Disappearance of Irdina Adhwa, despite having no formal training in acting aside from invaluable coaching given by the late film director Azhari Zain and actress Fatimah Abu Bakar.

Having learnt how to thrive even under pressure and adversity, it is perhaps Alicia’s modelling background that has helped her face challenges with finesse, even with her back to the wall in the worst of times.

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“Obviously, I would love to say everything worked out well, and oh, what a fancy life it’s been,” muses the gutsy 28-year-old. “I would choose that over anything else any day. But looking back, I suppose I did enjoy being a young kid who had so much to say and so much that she wanted to prove. I wouldn’t say I’m not like that anymore–I guess I’m more strategic when it comes to my fights, and I pick my battles, but not in a way that goes against who I am. I make the best of what happens. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And I just so happen to make a pretty badass lemonade.”

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