BY: Michelle Liew

Malaysian director and producer Michael Ang Hai Swee is no stranger to the entertainment industry and has made a name for himself with his successful filmography. This time, Michael has released his debut single titled Cinta atau Propa and it has sparked great attention among netizens.

Known for his opinionated personality, Michael has opened up as to his experiences with criticism. Michael, who is also a judge in the show ‘The Masked Singer Malaysia’, admits that he does not mind being criticized for speaking his thoughts as he is a firm believer that everyone has a right to speak up and give an opinion. With his latest single, Michael was ready to be on the receiving end of the onslaught.

“People have the right to criticize. I pay no attention to it because social media is not real life. I tend to criticize a lot too. For example, if a contestant is not performing well, I will do my job to criticize especially during competitions.

I’m a critique for the singers in the competition.

“So, when I decided to release a song, I had to be prepared and accept people’s criticism,” he said.

It was revealed that Michael was suffering from depression and as such, was determined to record the single.

“When asked, I kept saying ‘yes’ because I was suffering from depression and wanted to try something new.”

Michael has done a plethora of work in the industry, including acting, directing, writing scripts, being a producer and even cooking. There are only three other things that he has yet to try which are singing, writing songs and writing lyrics.

Prior to this, Michael was not confident with his voice and held back with his ambitions of being a part of the music industry, but he managed to work on it and went on with his new journey of becoming a singer and songwriter.

Michael eventually sought for professional help and bravely dealt with his inner struggles, showing netizens that there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes do dealing with mental health.

Michael channelled his woes into something greater and put his dreams into concrete plans. Despite the criticisms, Michael welcomed all comments with an open mind, accepting that it was part of his journey as a new singer. The official music video premiered on January 5th and has garnered 128,451 views and 1.8k likes thus far.