PETALING JAYA, June 11 — While many won’t be seen without a mask these days in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Anugerah Juara Lagu 34 (AJL34) finalist Aina Abdul is using them for a different reason.

To shield her from vicious comments on her appearance.

The Negri Sembilan-born singer, who was recently seen on Instagram belting out her song Semalam while wearing a protective face mask, told BH Online that receiving criticism over her facial appearance has made her less confident.

“I’ve been reading a lot of unkind comments on YouTube for the past few weeks — people have been questioning my appearance and compared me to other singers,” she told the Malay-language publication.

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“The criticisms they’ve hurled at me have caused me to lose my self-confidence to the point I don’t want to show my face.

“It made me feel like I’m ugly.”

 

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Following a promotional photoshoot for the annual AJL34 music awards, the singer was told by social media users she was “ugly” and she should “get plastic surgery”.

The Mentor Legend 2014 runner-up was also ridiculed for wearing a yellow knotted turban.

Despite being scarred by the hateful comments, Aina said she has to put on a brave front and continue singing as promoting her songs on social media is part of her job.

“To avoid receiving more comments, I decided to use a face mask,” she said, referring to her Instagram video last week.

The 27-year-old, whose real name is Nurul Aina Abdul Ghani, was touched when fans praised her singing, saying that loyal fans were her main motivation to face any obstacles.

“I was moved that fans said my voice was becoming better even though I was singing with a mask on.”

Aina added that it felt as though a wound was being healed.

“I don’t have any formula, the singing technique is still the same with or without a mask — it just requires sufficient breathing before hitting a big note.”

Earlier this year, the singer came under fire for her AJL34 performance of Sumpah which featured a suicide theme.

The performance was slammed by the Mental Illness Awareness & Support Association and was accused of violating the Guidelines for Media Reporting on Suicide which prohibits suicide methods from being shown or published.