Compiled by DIVYA THERESA RAVI AND C. ARUNO

LOCAL celebrities are getting savvier at sidestepping nosy questions about their personal lives, according to Berita Harian.

Take singer Dayang Nurfaizah, 44. When pressed about her wedding date during a recent press conference, she simply offered a breezy, “Pray for the best for me”.

This came after social media was abuzz with rumours of her engagement to singer and composer Hael Husaini, who had collaborated with her on three songs.

Dayang, whose full name is Dayang Nurfaizah Awang Dowty, steered the conversation away from romance rumours by announcing two upcoming performances of ‘Janji With Dayang’.

Fans can catch her in Penang on Aug 23 and at the Kuala Lumpur Tower on Sept 27.

“In conjunction with Janji’s new album, I have been dreaming of these two events for a long time.”

> Music icon Datuk M. Nasir recently shared with Kosmo! Online the profound personal journey of his haj pilgrimage, as he prepares for a rock concert.

The 67-year-old spoke of a deep melancholy he experienced during his spiritual journey with his wife Datin Marlia Musa.

“I felt very sad and pensive there; I don’t know why. I could only express my feelings by crying,” Nasir revealed.

He described the atmosphere in the Holy Land as intensely challenging, demanding immense inner strength to manage his thoughts and feelings to ensure his worship was undisturbed.

Despite this deeply personal and spiritual experience, Nasir is now channelling a different energy as he prepares for the ‘Datuk M.N46IR Cipta 3’ concert at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, on Sept 27.

“Now I’m gathering the rock soul back inside me. I left that genre of songs a long time ago, but the rock soul is still strong.”

> Kosmo! Online also reported that Uyaina Arshad, 32, recently took a firm stance against online negativity.

The TV host, whose full name is Saidatul Naseha Uyaina Arshad, expressed her disappointment after encountering a particularly harsh comment on Threads.

The user had written, “When it was Uyaina’s turn to host, I didn’t watch it and just skipped the episode because I couldn’t be bothered.”

While acknowledging that “we can’t make everyone like us” and that people are entitled to their opinions, Uyaina, 32, stressed the impact of anonymous negativity.

The host of Wanita Hari Ini made it clear that while she is open to constructive criticism, she will not tolerate offensive statements.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.