.jpg "Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali, actress Emma Maembong and controversial preacher Abu Sufyan are among the most searched individuals on Google Malaysia this year. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Farhan Najib and via Instagram")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Google Malaysia has released its annual Malaysian Year in search, revealing the most popular searches of the year in the country.
With prominent figures that include, artists, actors, politicians and even a preacher, the breakdown of the most searched for people features a number of names who have had a big year, with controversies dominating.
Taking the top spot this year in Trending People, Indonesian actress and singer Vanessa Angel, or her real name Vanesza Adzania, emerged as the most searched person by Malaysians.
Google trends data indicated that Vanessa came into the limelight after news broke out that the 27-year-old was caught for allegedly being involved in an online prostitution scheme.
Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali who is also PKR deputy president became the lone politician on the top 10 most trending people list by taking the second spot.
A series of videos that allegedly featured him may have been more than just a contributing factor.
Third on the list is actress Emma Maembong, or Fatimah Rohani Ismail, after some of her life choices became heavily talked about by fans and critics this year.
Earlier this year, the 27-year-old admitted to shedding the tudung or headscarf after viral photos of her sans tudung with a friend, Syed Abdullah Abdul Rahman, set social media abuzz.
A drunken brawl in Singapore placed controversial Singaporean actor and singer Aliff Aziz next up on the list while South Korean singer and songwriter Jung Joon Young ringed in fifth for illicit sexual misconducts.
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Rounding off the list are actor and model Ben Amir, South Korean singer and songwriter Seungri, Hong Kong Canadian TV entertainer Jacqueline Wong and controversial preacher Abu Sufyan, better known as PU Abu.
The list also included former senior private secretary to a deputy minister Haziq Aziz who ranked No 9 in the list.
Haziq took the social media and news headlines by storm for the same reasons that pushed Azmin to second in the list.
In addition to showcasing who and what people were curious about in Malaysia, Google Search tools also offer insights into which topics captured the entire world’s attention in 2019.
To explore the rest of this year’s “Year in Search” stories and top trending charts from Malaysia and around the world, click here.
