Singapore pop icon Anita Sarawak spotted in Las Vegas

31 Dec 2024

The Straits Times

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Anita was a household name in Singapore and Malaysia and had a career spanning 4 decades. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Even after a public absence of over a decade, Singaporean 70s pop diva Anita Sarawak still piques the interest of regional media.

A photo of the 72-year-old with her British husband, Mohamad Mahathir Abdullah, surfaced on Dec 31.

The Singapore icon was photographed by her foster brother, former entertainment journalist for The New Straits Times (NST) Shuib Taib, in what the Malaysian newspaper described as a “recent” photo - however, it is unclear when exactly the snapshot was taken.

In an Instagram post, NST’s former entertainment editor Roslen Fadzil shared the photo, accompanied with an anecdote of how he was tasked with helping a concert promoter to engage Anita for a concert.

He got in touch with Mr Shuib to convey the message to Anita, who then replied through Mr Mahathir to thank Mr Roslen for the invitation. However, she declined the opportunity, reiterating that she had already retired to a different, more private life, and was comfortable with her current situation.

The post was picked up and shared by Malaysian media including Buletin TV3, Malaysia Bangkit, Rakyat Insight and Malaysia’s Berita Harian within hours.

A diva of the 1970s, Anita - whose real name is Ithnaini Mohamed Taib - was a household name in Singapore and Malaysia and had a career spanning four decades.

She performed in Las Vegas in the US from 1985 to 2001, and was last based in Kuala Lumpur, where she had hosted television shows from 2003.

Anita then disappeared from the public eye at the end of 2010, giving rise to decade-long speculation on her whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding her exit from the entertainment world.

Once nicknamed “Asian Dynamite”, Anita came from a family of celebrities.

Her father was the late actor-director S. Roomai Nor, and her mother Siput Sarawak was a prominent actress during the golden age of Malay cinema in the 1950s and 1960s.

Anita’s first foray into the industry was as an actress – but singing was her forte.

She sang in English, Malay and Mandarin and her hits included Asmara (Love), Seksis (Sexist) and covers of Sophisticated Lady and Turn The Beat Around.

In March 2017, Anita was inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame, which recognises outstanding contributions by women to the country. At the time, The Straits Times reported that she lived in Las Vegas and kept a low profile.

In 2022, Anita contacted Mr Shuib, who revealed that she had told him of several events that had disappointed her before she left showbiz, leading her to believe it was the right time to step away and bid goodbye to the world of entertainment.

In April, a report in Singapore Malay-language daily Berita Harian cited her younger sister, artist Noor Kumalasari, as saying that Anita was “still healthy” and that her marriage with her husband was still doing well.

Noor said that Anita would not return to Singapore or Malaysia, and had decided to live as an ordinary person and not an artist in America.