“MENJOLOK MATA” is a Malay idiom to describe sights that are considered inappropriate and often reserved for when the ladies are deemed to be revealing a tad too much modesty.
This seems to be the storm in the teacup brewing over Astro presenter Nia Atasha’s choice of wardrobe when appearing on a recent Astro Ria’s #officiallive segment.
The model-cum-actress’s top was deemed to be “too revealing” for mass consumption. The contours of her figure on show were just too much to bear for some conservative viewers.
A sample of the outrage can be viewed on a post by Threaer Nadia Izwanie Azizan (@Nadiaizwanie) who apologised in advance to the broadcaster for her observations but was unable to hold back her displeasure at the presenter’s dressing.
The poster appealed to Astro to be more sensitive with regard to wardrobe etiquette for female presenters to avoid donning clothes that may be deemed overly sexy.
“At least wear a jacket or suit on top” was the simple fashion advice offered.
The post has generated 7.4K likes, 927 comments, 249 re-posts and 2.5K shares at the time of writing, denoting that the tight outfit is a trending topic in Malaysia.
There were plenty who shared the poster’s indignant reaction, blaming the producers and other crew members for not pointing out that the top chosen may be a bit too risqué for Malaysian TV audiences.
It was also claimed that even non-Muslim TV hosts in neighbouring Singapore know how to present themselves appropriately for general viewing. This commenter suspected that nothing was said by the producers to avoid upsetting Nia Atasha.
There were those who felt that the host of the TV show was milking it (no pun intended) by causing her mammary glands to “jiggle” when she clapped her hands. Another amateur comedian likened the presenter’s anatomy to “taufufa” (soft bean curd in Cantonese).
“Disgusting” was the verdict of one ultra-conservative commenter who claimed that it was not the first time this particular ‘free hair’ Muslim presenter’s outfits have raised eyebrows.
An obviously put-off viewer went as far to label the too-tight clothes as “porn wear” and wondered why the broadcaster let this through sans filtering. “Did they think this was a foreign-produced programme?” she queried indignantly.
However, amid all the deafening cries of moral outrage, there were those who sought to take a different perspective. One commenter pointed out it was “not the outfit that was the problem but people’s eyes”.
Mirroring opposite values, one commenter labelled dissenters as simple rural folk who would get offended over nothing. “It’s not like she’s naked” he exclaimed. He also dismissed these conservatives as having the mindset of kampung folk who are prone to culture shocks.
This schism in moral values was also very pronounced in a debate on the same issue in a separate post. Threader Sharifah Nazirah (@nazirah_alsagaff) had also expressed her uneasiness that “men and teenage boys were exposed to this free show”.
Amid all the critical comments, there were those who argued that the TV personality bore no responsibility to police her own wardrobe for wandering eyes.
This perspective was “pure projection and insecurity”, argued a disbelieving commenter while another contended that it was not the TV presenter’s duty to control other people’s husbands and kids’ lustful thoughts.
One feminist highlighted with no small degree of alarm that the anti-women comments from fellow females. Shouldn’t be such hate be directed towards “rapists, paedophiles and misogynists”, it was quite rightly asked.
On the one hand, it does seem entirely reasonable for the producers to have covered the presenter with a jacket. Not difficult and entirely in keeping with social mores, especially for content that is available to all age groups.
On the other, is the vitriol misplaced? The presenter was NOT naked and many of the comments were simply body shaming her.
Furthermore, as quite rightly pointed out, this TV host has no responsibility to police lustful male thoughts and eyes. It is simply not her problem.
Perhaps, Malaysians need to take a chill pill and not let wardrobe choices dominate the headlines.
If you don’t like what you see, switch channels and by all means, voice your displeasure to Astro but do NOT let it degenerate into a body-shaming, name-calling or insult-lobbing exercise. – Sept 3, 2026
